The Russian Pension Fund compensates pensioners who live in the Arctic for the cost of their travel to and from the vacation destination online. The service has been launched by the public services portal together with the Digital Development Ministry.
The Russian Pension Fund is working to improve the quality and accessibility of social services in the context of the digital transformation concept, which is overseen by the Russian Labor and Social Protection Ministry and optimizes the operation of the PFR, the Social Insurance Fund, and the Social Security Medical Assessment Board.
“The digital transformation is more than a mere implementation of new technologies. First and foremost, this is about the convenience and satisfaction of our citizens. By broadening the methods and forms of the provision of services, we improve the service quality. Now northern pensioners can apply for compensation of vacation travel expenses online, directly from home. An application will be processed within ten business days. If approved, the money is transferred together with other payments from the Pension Fund. It could be credited to a bank account or be received via post,” acting Chairman of the Pension Fund Board Sergey Chirkov said.
Last year, the Pension Fund compensated vacation travel expenses of 233,000 northern pensioners. An average compensation received by pensioners upon their return from vacation is 16,000 rubles.
Non-working pensioners who have old-age or disability insurance pension and live in the Arctic or similar areas can apply for vacation travel compensation once in two years.
A photo or a scan copy of tickets, information about the expenses, or a certificate of the travel cost whenever tickets of a higher category are purchased need to be attached to the online application.
The compensation is limited to the cost of a reserved seat on a train, an economy class ticket of Russian airlines or airlines of other EAEU member states, a seat on an intercity bus, a 3rd class cabin of a river boat, or a 4th – 5th class cabin of a ship.