Legislative framework for obtaining the title of veteran
According to paragraph 1 of Art. 7 Federal Law “On Veterans” dated January 12, 1995 No. 5-FZ, labor veterans are recognized as persons who have:
- a document confirming the conferment of this title;
- awards (orders or medals), honorary titles of the USSR (RF), departmental signs marking labor achievements, if there is a length of service sufficient to establish an old-age or long-service pension;
- work experience that began before reaching adulthood during the Second World War and was at least 40 years for men and at least 35 years for women.
But, having determined the minimum necessary list of signs by which a person can be considered worthy of the title “Veteran of Labor”, Art. 7 of Law No. 5-FZ (clause 4) in terms of establishing the procedure and conditions for assigning this title refers to regional legislative acts. Thus, by outlining the absolutely mandatory circle of persons recognized as labor veterans, the law makes it possible to significantly expand their list at the regional level. Each region has the right to add its own to the list of conditions on the basis of which a person can be considered a labor veteran, which will be valid only in this specific region.
In this regard, a person who decides to apply for the title “Veteran of Labor”, first of all, needs to familiarize himself with the text of the regulations on veterans of labor adopted in his region. This document can be found either at social security authorities or on the websites of these authorities or local administrations. Its text must contain not only the requirements that must be met to recognize a person as a labor veteran, but also a list of benefits to which the veteran will be entitled after being awarded the title in the corresponding region.
Privileges
The issue of veterans' benefits is one of the most significant, primarily from a financing point of view. Who provides and funds benefits?
Federal Law No. 5 (Article 22) clearly states: preferential treatment occurs in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. This means that the benefit program in each region is different. At the same time Art. 13 of the said Federal Law also provides a general list of benefits for veterans. In addition to pensions, the article names:
- monthly benefit payments;
- compulsory housing;
- reimbursement of housing and communal services expenses and rent;
- medical care;
- prosthetic and orthopedic services.
These guarantees are provided based on the financial resources of the regions and are specified by local legislators. Local authorities can establish their own benefits for this category. In many regions, for example, they are completely exempt from the burden of transport tax. The composition of benefits, compared to the standard, has been significantly expanded in the capital and Moscow Region, and other large Russian cities.
What's the result?
- Receiving benefits in connection with a citizen’s status as a labor veteran actually depends on the region of residence, as does the procedure for obtaining the title itself.
- Work experience and awards received by the employee for work, which are documented, play a role. Young children who worked during the Second World War can now also apply for this title, if they have experience, in accordance with Federal Law No. 5.
- The general list of benefits for labor veterans is specified by region, taking into account the capabilities of their budgets.
How much experience is needed for men and women?
Based on the conditions contained in paragraph 1 of Art. 7 of Law No. 5-FZ, length of service for conferring the title “Veteran of Labor” is determined in 2 ways:
- in the form of a specific figure for persons who began working before reaching adulthood during the Second World War: at least 40 years for men and at least 35 years for women;
- by reference to the length of service required to establish an old-age or long-service pension - for persons awarded awards of the USSR (RF).
The age for establishing a long-service pension is given in the laws of the Russian Federation:
- “On state pension provision in the Russian Federation” dated December 15, 2001 No. 166-FZ - for federal civil servants, cosmonauts and test pilots. It contains the following figures: for civil servants - 25 years without distinction between genders (reduced in some cases to 15 years);
- for cosmonauts and test pilots—25 years for men and 20 years for women, with a reduction for health reasons to 20 and 15 years, respectively.
According to the current pension legislation (Federal Law “On Insurance Pensions” dated December 28, 2013 No. 400-FZ), for the establishment of an old-age pension, length of service no longer matters. It was replaced by the insurance period, the value of which will be increased to 15 years by 2024 (in 2016 it is only 7 years).
So, when determining the length of service required to establish an old-age pension, it is more reasonable to focus on the figures specified in the RF Law of November 20, 1990 No. 340-I, repealed since 2002, “On State Pensions in the Russian Federation”: 25 years for men and 20 years for women with a reduction in the presence of grounds for early establishment of a pension for a period of up to 5 (for most reasons) or 10 years.
The specific number of years of experience for all situations must be indicated in the regional regulations on the labor veteran, which describes the requirements that are needed to recognize a person as a veteran. Since the region reserves the right to expand the circle of persons classified as veterans, the conditions for length of service in a particular region may be:
- Reduced for persons who began working before reaching adulthood during the Second World War, or who received awards from the USSR (RF).
- Established without reference to special merits. In this case, it will be enough to have the work experience that is established in the region as the minimum required to obtain the title of veteran.
Is it possible to receive an honorary title without awards?
In this case, only the citizen who began working during the Second World War before reaching the age of eighteen receives the honorary title.
However, there is a condition : their work experience must be at least forty years for males, and at least thirty-five years for females.
In order to qualify as a labor veteran, it is necessary to collect documents that will confirm that the citizen did not work in the occupied territory of the Soviet Union.
In all other cases, citizens will need awards, orders and other above-mentioned awards.
Required procedure for obtaining the title
To obtain the title of labor veteran, you need to apply to the social security authorities at your place of residence, also presenting there all the documents confirming the validity of such an application:
- on awarding an order, medal, title of honorary or meritorious worker, government or departmental signs, thanks, certificates of honor;
- work experience and, if necessary, work during the Second World War;
- other merits, if they are a condition for obtaining this title in the region.
For information about the main document from which data on work experience is obtained, read the article “Instructions for filling out work books.”
Consideration of the application by the social security authorities, together with sending the applicant a notification of the decision made, should not take more than 35 days. If the decision is positive, after another 3 days you can receive a veteran’s certificate.
If there are grounds, you can receive the title before retirement age, but you will be able to take advantage of the benefits it provides only after you have received your pension.
Failure situations
Registration of “Veteran of Labor” through “State Services” is accompanied by the issuance of a positive or negative response. When an application is received by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD), the complete set of documents and the accuracy of information about the applicant are checked. Therefore, when violations are detected, a refusal occurs:
- The applicant does not have Russian citizenship.
- The place of registration does not coincide with the location of the territorial unit of the MSD.
- Failure of the submitted documents to meet the required criteria.
- No awards or minimum length of service to qualify for security.
What advantages does the title of labor veteran provide?
In Art. 13 of Law No. 5-FZ provides a general list of measures that can comprise social support provided, including to labor veterans:
- provision of pensions and benefits;
- making monthly cash payments;
- provision and assistance in maintaining housing;
- Payment of utility services;
- providing such types of assistance as medical and prosthetic and orthopedic.
At the same time, in relation to labor veterans, the right to establish specific measures of such support is assigned to the regions (Article 22 of Law No. 5-FZ), which can specify the types of support listed in the law and supplement them with their own. For example, it's possible:
- reduction in payments for housing, utilities or telephone;
- provision of free or partially paid travel.
In addition, in the regions there may be tax benefits for regional and local taxes, for which the legislation allows for the establishment of an additional list of benefits at the regional level.
About personal income tax benefits that pensioners can take advantage of in certain situations, read the article “Art. 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (2015): questions and answers.”
Preferential benefits
Absolutely all citizens who have been awarded an honorary veteran of labor receive a variety of preferential benefits:
- Providing treatment in city clinics without payment;
- Traveling on city transport without paying for travel;
- Fifty percent discount on housing and communal services;
- For working pensioners with veteran status, vacation is expected at a time convenient for the veteran;
- Compensation for the costs of laying gas pipes in housing;
- Free production and installation of dental prostheses in state-owned dentistry;
- Pension payments;
- Relief from property tax;
- Possibility to transfer personal income tax to another date;
- Exemption from taxation for individuals.
In addition to the above-mentioned preferential benefits, which are state-owned, regional authorities can provide their own types of preferential privileges.
You can clarify the list of benefits provided by the city authorities by contacting the nearest regional social protection center.
In addition to the above, a pensioner with the status of a labor veteran can receive the following benefits:
- Traveling by transport in suburban directions without paying for travel;
- Supplement to pension, made monthly and recalculated upward every year;
- Fifty percent discount on landline telephone fees;
- Free visit to a sanatorium-resort holiday once a year with payment of travel in both directions.
Free entry to a sanatorium-resort holiday
Results
The legislation of the Russian Federation provides a fairly limited list of persons to whom the title “Veteran of Labor” is applicable, leaving the regions the right to independently supplement it and establish a specific list of benefits that the region is ready to provide to a veteran of labor.
Work experience can be one of the conditions with which the assignment of this title is associated or constitute the only basis for recognizing a person as a labor veteran. You can find more complete information on the topic in ConsultantPlus. Free trial access to the system for 2 days.
Compensation for housing and communal services
In a number of regions, labor veterans have the right to compensation for the following housing and utility services:
- housing maintenance and repair;
- contributions for major repairs of an apartment building;
- electricity, water and heat;
- payment of fuel for veterans who live in a private house.
Such benefits are issued through the MFC. The veteran is provided with the cash equivalent of a discount: after paying the bills, social services add a certain percentage of the payment amount to the veteran’s pension. A percentage of the share that accrues to the veteran is paid. Depending on how many people live with him in the same living space.
Compensation for dental prosthetics
In the regions, labor veterans receive free dental prosthetics. You can take advantage of the benefit at a dental clinic that has entered into a special contract with the regional Ministry of Health.
A veteran can use this service once every few years, having first queued for this service. To do this, you need to come to your clinic with a passport, compulsory medical insurance policy and a labor veteran’s ID. You can check the full list of papers at the social security department.
Bankiros.ru
Monetization of benefits under Federal Law 122
The service for monetization of benefits is regulated by the law on labor veterans, Federal Law of the Russian Federation No. 122 of August 22, 2004, and is provided at the federal and regional levels. Money received in return:
- treatment and rehabilitation in sanatoriums;
- provision of medicines;
- transport services.
If a pensioner does not need a certain type of social benefits, he has the right to write an application to renounce them and receive monetary compensation.
What benefits are you allowed to refuse? Let's decipher the points specified in the statement:
- Part 1 Art. 6.2 - the whole set;
- clause 1 part 1 art. 6.2 - medicines and medical devices;
- clause 1.1 part 1 art. 6.2 — vouchers to sanatoriums;
- clause 2, part 1, art. 62 - free travel to and from the place of treatment.
A confirmation will be issued indicating that the application has been received.
A sample application for refusal to receive a set of social benefits is available for download at the end of the article.
Moscow
Benefits for capital labor veterans in terms of social support are established by law No. 70 dated November 3, 2004. Among them:
- the possibility of free travel on any passenger transport (except taxis and minibuses) in Moscow or a monthly monetary compensation in the amount of 378 rubles;
- free travel by commuter rail or monthly cash compensation in the amount of 188 rubles;
- 50% discount on payment for housing and utilities - provided on the basis of an application to the organization that charges payments for these services;
- monthly monetary compensation for city telephone services in the amount of 250 rubles;
- free production and repair of dentures (except for the costs of paying for the cost of precious metals and metal-ceramics);
- for non-working citizens with medical indications - free vouchers to sanatoriums and compensation for round-trip railway travel using vouchers received through social security authorities;
- monthly cash payment in the amount of 1056 rubles.
Important information: benefits for labor veterans in 2021 in Moscow are provided only if they receive an insurance pension, pension or lifelong maintenance on other grounds and upon reaching the age to receive an old-age insurance pension.
Reward again
Our reader, unfortunately, found herself in a “transition period” from the old system to the new one. The decision to award an award after all the necessary documents have been sent to the ministry takes some time. In the case of Elena Vladimirovna, the documents for her nomination for the award were prepared according to the old rules, but it so happened that she received the “Gratitude” on September 26, 2021, when this distinction no longer gave the right to be awarded the title. The Ministry of Agriculture approved the new insignia by order “On Departmental Awards” in August 2021, and it came into force after registration with the Ministry of Justice on September 27.
This situation can hardly be called fair. It would be more logical and correct for the old lists of insignia to be valid until the new insignia are approved. There are two ways to act in such a situation: try to prove in court that since at the time Elena Vladimirovna received the award there was no new approved insignia of the Ministry of Agriculture, it was impossible to suspend the “legitimacy” of the old award. True, it is worth assessing with lawyers how realistic this is. The second option is that the enterprise where our reader works can once again nominate her for a departmental award, which, in accordance with the legislation currently in force, will give her the right to be awarded the veteran title.
Meanwhile
Saint Petersburg
Social support measures or benefits for labor veterans in St. Petersburg in 2021 are established by clause 1 of Art. 62 of Law No. 728-132 of November 22, 2011 (Social Code). These include:
- monthly cash payment in the amount of 947 rubles;
- payment for housing in the amount of 50% of the living space;
- payment of utilities in the amount of 50%;
- payment of contributions for major repairs - 50%;
- free travel on city passenger transport (except minibuses and taxis);
- free year-round travel on suburban railway transport.
What you need to do to receive benefits
The procedure for obtaining benefits is determined by regional legislation, but in most cases, the initiation of the process is of a declarative nature and requires an application to the authorities performing the functions of social protection of the population in the constituent entity of the Russian Federation.
To receive social support measures in most regions, it is necessary to submit the following documents to the authorized body:
- identification document;
- veteran's certificate (federal or regional level) or a certificate, other document confirming the assignment of a rank (depending on the subject);
- a completed application in the established form (approved by the administrative regulations for the provision of the relevant public service);
- confirmation of the convenience of the living quarters in which the veteran lives;
- a certificate of family composition or an extract from the house register;
- confirmation of the right of ownership or use of the residential premises in which the applicant lives.
Depending on the requirements of regional legislation and the type of support provided, the list of documents may change.
As a rule, a different procedure is provided for free or discounted travel. For public transport, a personalized travel ticket is issued. When purchasing discounted tickets for suburban and intraregional buses and trains, veterans only need to present a certificate entitling them to receive such benefits. Legal relations are regulated by the carrier and the government body of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation directly, without the participation of the beneficiary.
