The Pension Fund of Russia (PFR) is a government agency whose responsibilities include the provision of pension insurance and social security for citizens. The list of functions of the Pension Fund is quite wide: personalized accounting, assignment and payment of insurance pensions, processing of reports of insurance premium payers, assignment and payment of maternity capital, and so on.
In this regard, the Pension Fund is the institution with which citizens interact most often. However, insured persons and policyholders are not always satisfied with the work of the institution. Controversial issues often arise when, in the opinion of citizens and organizations, Pension Fund employees make unlawful decisions.
At the same time, the law allows you to appeal the actions/inactions of Pension Fund employees to higher and supervisory authorities. However, not everyone knows how an appeal can be made. How and where to complain about the Pension Fund will be discussed later in the article.
Reasons for claims
Due to the extensive list of functions and tasks assigned to this department, there are quite a lot of grounds for filing a complaint. Below are the most common unlawful actions of Pension Fund employees, which citizens have the right to appeal in the prescribed manner.
Incorrect pension calculation
Pension legislation is quite complex and confusing. When calculating and calculating material payments to citizens, many factors are taken into account, including length of service, the amount of pension rights, all kinds of benefits and concessions.
In this regard, errors often arise when determining the amount of material support . At the same time, an incorrect calculation, as a rule, significantly reduces the size of the monthly payment.
As a rule, incorrect calculation occurs due to the fact that any period of work activity was not taken into account by employees when calculating length of service. However, of course, there may be other reasons.
Attention! It is important to understand that the pension is calculated based on the data of the Pension Fund itself and the documents submitted by the applicant. Therefore, if a citizen does not have documentary evidence that he is right, then, first of all, he should be concerned about obtaining them, since a complaint not supported by evidence will not bring a positive result.
Refusal to accept documents and provide public services
It has been established that Pension Fund employees do not have the right to refuse to provide services. However, situations often arise when, under one pretext or another, the department refuses to accept documents from a citizen, citing their incorrect execution, insufficient completeness, or not giving any reasons at all.
Such actions are a gross violation of the law. Pension Fund employees are required to accept applications and other documents within their competence . If they contain errors or the order of submission of papers is violated, then the documents are returned to the applicant, but this is done in strict accordance with the established procedure.
Violation of terms of provision of services
In accordance with the law, one or another service within the competence of the Russian Pension Fund must be provided no later than the expiration of a certain period. For example, the assignment of an insurance pension is carried out within 10 days from the date of acceptance of the application. However, a longer period of consideration is possible - within 3 months, but the reasons for such a delay must be justified.
If the deadlines are not met or there are no grounds for a longer consideration, the applicant has the right to file a complaint about the inaction of Pension Fund officials.
Inappropriate behavior by Pension Fund employees
The most prosaic reason why complaints are filed against the Pension Fund is the rudeness of the fund’s employees.
As a rule, such a conflict has a reason that is not related to the competence of the official, however, any government agency has standards for interaction with citizens, within the framework of which certain ethical norms operate. In other words, rudeness and inappropriate behavior when dealing with applicants will not be tolerated.
Complaint about the inaction of a bailiff through State Services: instructions
So, you understand that you cannot do without complaints and conflict. How to competently appeal the inaction of a bailiff? You need to carry out the entire procedure through the State Services portal. Through this website you can use the “Personal Account of a Party to Enforcement Proceedings” service.
The only thing you will need at the initial stage is to undergo identity verification in a unified identification system. You can also undergo confirmation by receiving an enhanced qualified signature key - EDS.
What needs to be done for this:
- Go to your personal account page: lk.fssprus.ru and log in there.
- Specify your login and password.
- Next, find the “submit application” button.
- We indicate the type of your application.
- The portal will then direct you to the portal page.
- On the new page, select “personal visit to the FSSP”.
- It is necessary to clarify who is submitting the application - the applicant personally or his authorized representative.
- Select a category - collector or debtor.
- We fill out the proposed form about ourselves and submit this application.
At the same time, direct communication with bailiffs through State Services is excluded - the procedure is limited to filling out an application and the proposed forms. You will receive all the necessary answers in your personal account online.
How to correctly write a complaint to the Pension Fund of Russia
There are no special requirements for a document such as a complaint. The competent authorities are obliged to accept the appeal, regardless of the nature of its content.
However, in order for the complaint to have effect, experts recommend that it be drawn up in accordance with the rules of official document flow.
Thus, the request must be made in writing. It should not contain gross grammatical errors; typos and corrections are undesirable.
Reference! The text of the document can be written by hand or typed on a computer. This is not of fundamental importance for the possibility of speedy consideration of the appeal.
The complaint itself, being a legally significant document, must have a certain structure, due to which the position stated in it will be more concise and clear.
Let's take a closer look:
- Document header. In the upper right corner, information about the person sending the appeal (full name, residential address, contacts) and the institution to which it is addressed (name, address, full name and position of the responsible person) is indicated.
- Title of the document . Next, in the center of the page, the word “Complaint” is written and briefly the action that served as the reason for sending the appeal. For example, “Complaint about the inaction of officials of the Russian Pension Fund.”
- Main part. Here the citizen should briefly describe the situation that has arisen and explain what exactly the violation of his rights is. Here it should be noted that the style of presentation should be the most impartial, that is, manifestations of emotionality and, especially, insults to officials of a government body are not allowed.
- The pleading part. Here you should indicate what exactly the applicant requires from the regulatory authority. For example, “I ask you to oblige the specified officials of the Pension Fund branch to recalculate the pension within the period established by law.”
Sample complaint to the Pension Fund:
The complaint must be certified by the signature of its originator, and the date of its writing must also be indicated.
Important! In the text of the complaint there is no need to refer to individual rules of law and legislative provisions. However, the presence of such references significantly increases the possibility of a positive consideration of the application.
Below we will consider a number of authorities that supervise the activities of fund employees.
To the Pension Fund branch
Control over the work of employees rests with their immediate supervisor. Therefore, a complaint to the head of the department will be effective in case of rudeness and incompetence of officials working with citizens. In addition, he should also complain about the improper organization of the reception of citizens.
Head of territorial department
Territorial departments coordinate the activities of Pension Fund branches in a particular region. A complaint is submitted to the head of the territorial department if an appeal to the management of the department does not bring results. In addition, appeals related to incorrect calculation of pension payments, violation of the deadline for the provision of services, and so on are submitted to the department management.
If the appeal does not have an effect, then the complaint should be sent to a higher authority - the Office for Working with Citizens' Complaints of the Executive Directorate of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation.
To the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation
If an appeal to the higher authorities of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation does not lead to a positive result, then the complaint should be sent to the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, which takes measures to respond to violations of the rights of citizens.
To the prosecutor's office
The prosecutor's office is a supervisory agency whose responsibilities include monitoring the implementation of legislation. It is advisable to send an appeal to the prosecutor's office in cases of systematic violation of the rights of citizens by the Pension Fund of Russia.
Going to court
Going to court is the most effective way to protect violated rights. However, it is not a complaint, but an application that is submitted to the judicial authority.
It is considered in the manner of claim proceedings, and therefore the requirements for its preparation and the procedure for filing are established by procedural legislation. Since errors when drawing up a statement of claim are unacceptable, it is recommended to entrust this task to a qualified lawyer.
Responsibilities of the Pension Fund and regulatory framework
The legislative platform for the fund’s activities is formed by the following documents:
- Constitution of the Russian Federation;
- Federal Law No. 167-FZ dated December 15, 2001 “On compulsory pension insurance in the Russian Federation”;
- Federal Law No. 166-FZ dated December 15, 2001 “On state pension provision in the Russian Federation”;
- Federal Law No. 56-FZ dated April 30, 2008 “On additional insurance contributions for funded pensions and state support for the formation of pension savings”;
- Federal Law No. 111-FZ dated July 24, 2002 “On investing funds to finance funded pensions in the Russian Federation”;
- Federal Law No. 424-FZ dated December 28, 2013 “On funded pensions”;
- Federal Law No. 256-FZ dated December 29, 2006 “On additional measures of state support for families with children”;
- Federal Law No. 27-FZ dated 04/01/1996 “On individual (personalized) registration in the compulsory pension insurance system.”
The responsibilities of the Pension Fund include providing the population with the following services:
- work with citizens’ applications for the issuance and exchange of SNILS;
- providing information about the status of a personal personal account;
- information about a range of social services;
- registration of old-age pension, length of service;
- acceptance of documents and payment of disability pension;
- issuance of a state certificate for maternity capital;
- work with citizens’ applications for pension savings;
- providing compensation for the cost of travel to the place of rest and back to pensioners-northerners;
- establishing a one-time cash payment to certain categories of citizens (for example, labor veterans);
- receiving information from payers about paid insurance premiums, etc.
Citizens can receive the indicated services directly or electronically. In the first case, you need to come to the fund branch or MFC in person or send a proxy. The second option allows you to reduce the need for trips to institutions to a minimum.
This is interesting! Social disability pension in 2018.
How and where to send an application electronically
Today, electronic forms of interaction with government agencies are becoming increasingly widespread. Thus, it is possible to file a complaint with the higher authorities of the Pension Fund of Russia through the official website of the department.
To do this, go to the official website of the fund, located at the web address https://es.pfrf.ru. Here you should find the “Citizens' Appeals” tab. After familiarizing yourself with the rules for submitting applications electronically, a special form will appear on the screen that must be filled out. It should be noted that scans of documents that are attached to it in support of the position can be attached to the text of the complaint. The period for consideration of an application in electronic form is 30 days, the same as when submitting it in the form of a paper document.
In addition, it is possible to send an application through State Services.
Judicial practice on complaints against the actions of bailiffs
We note that such processes—arising as a result of complaints—often reach the Supreme Court. It is difficult to explain what caused this, but the fact remains. Most likely, it was the desire of the bailiffs to protect the “honor of the uniform” and not hand over a lazy colleague to the complainant.
As a first example, we present the Ruling of the Supreme Court dated June 4, 2021 N 5-КГ19-56.
Citizen Alekseev filed a claim against the FSSP, demanding compensation for damage in the amount of slightly more than 1 million rubles and state duty expenses in the amount of 13 thousand rubles. He acted as a production collector. The debtor was the organization "Windows MSK".
Due to a mistake by the bailiff, the claimant was deprived of the opportunity to collect the money that the debtor had and was kept in a Sberbank account. The court of first instance and the Appeal refused to satisfy the claims of the claimant Alekseev. The dispute reached the Supreme Court. An objection was also received there from the FSSP. However, having considered the circumstances of the case, the Supreme Court found the complaint to be justified.
The case developed as follows.
- Based on the court decision, enforcement proceedings were initiated.
- The bailiff imposed a ban on transactions with the registered property of the organization. Several vehicles were registered to her.
- Next, the bailiff foreclosed on the organization’s money in the required amount. But while the decision was being made, the organization withdrew money from the account.
- Subsequently, the bailiff withdrew only a little more than 60 thousand rubles and closed the proceedings due to the lack of funds from the debtor.
The result was a situation where the bailiff was late with restrictive measures. He opened production and did not act, which led to damage. As a result, the case was sent for review.
Also, as an example, we can cite the Supreme Court Decision No. 2-65/2019 dated July 21, 2021. Here, the bailiffs seized seized property worth 1.4 million rubles for storage, but it subsequently disappeared. The Supreme Court considered that the bailiff was responsible for the objects that were seized for storage. The case was also sent for review.
Sometimes debtors who file claims against bailiffs also reach the Supreme Court. This happened in Determination No. 44-КГ19-18 in case No. 2-4103/2018 Moscow dated December 17, 2021. In this case, the debtor paid the entire amount of the required debt, but this did not help - his trip abroad on a tour package was disrupted . The problem was the inaction of the bailiff - he did not lift the restriction, and the man was not released abroad.
Consequences
After submitting a complaint to the prosecutor's office, events can develop in several ways:
- The prosecutor will have enough documents that you sent, and he will send you a letter with the results of checking your case:
- If the violation is confirmed, you will receive comprehensive information about it and a recommendation to take the case to court, if the very fact of checking the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation by the prosecutor’s office did not affect it.
- If there was no violation and the Pension Fund of Russia acted legally, they will explain to you on the basis of which legislative acts your appeal is unfounded.
- The prosecutor will not have enough documents that you sent, and you will be given time to convey what you need. Further outcomes are the same as in paragraphs 1.1. and 1.2.
Sometimes the very fact of checking the situation prompts the Pension Fund to move, and sometimes even a full check does not help. Then you have to go to court, and it is very advisable to have a good lawyer on your side.
In any case, your complaint can greatly affect the situation and further developments. The main thing is to submit it correctly and know for sure that you are acting legally.
The Pension Fund of Russia is a body that sometimes leads the ranking of the most legislatively complicated authorities. Problems when applying there arise not only for future or current pensioners, but also for hired lawyers.
Legislation regarding pensions changes so quickly that it can be impossible to keep track of minor amendments, and fund employees are in no hurry to accommodate their clients. After all, the state needs to minimize the loss of money, even those that they are obliged to pay to the population.
- What are the reasons for complaining?
- How to file a complaint with the prosecutor's office
- Sample and drawing rules
- Possible results
Unfortunately, most often this unspoken role goes to the Pension Fund, because it is much easier to confuse the legislation there than anywhere else. It's not particularly clear anyway.