At an expanded meeting of the collegium of the Ministry of labor and social protection of the population of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the head of the institution, Svetlana Zhakupova spoke about the ongoing work to further improve the pension system, ensure the financial sustainability of the mandatory social insurance system, and develop the social support system.  

The event was attended by Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yermek Kosherbayev; members of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan; representatives of the Presidential Administration and the Government Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan; vice ministers, the head of the apparatus, committee chairpersons, department directors, heads of subordinate organizations of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, representatives of central state bodies; deputy akims and heads of employment coordination and social programs departments of the regions and the cities of Astana, Almaty, and Shymkent; social partners, and others.

In her speech, Svetlana Zhakupova emphasized that the priority direction of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection (MLSP) is the social security of citizens..

"Since 1998, the main vector of pension system development has been the transition to a funded pension. However, the state component—solidary and basic pensions—still dominates the pension structure.

Measures are being taken to ensure adequate pension and benefit amounts. In accordance with the President’s directive, the phased increase in the basic pension continues. As of January 1, 2024, mandatory employer pension contributions have been introduced," she said.

The minister noted that despite the measures being taken, the replacement rate of lost labor income with pension payments continues to decline for new retirees. The reason for this is the natural decrease in solidarity-based service periods and the low level of pension savings.

"In the funded pension system, 6.4 million citizens participate, which accounts for 71.1% of the employed population. However, a significant portion of participants often engage in a formal and irregular manner. There are concerns regarding the profitability of pension assets. In 2024, 26.8 billion tenge was allocated from the republican budget to compensate for lost investment income. In this regard, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection (MLSP), together with government agencies and the expert community, will continue working on improving the pension system," said Svetlana Zhakupova.

The head of the MLSP also provided information on the situation in the mandatory social insurance system, which currently covers 74.3% of the employed population. 

"In 2024, payments from the State Social Insurance Fund (SSIF) were made to 1.4 million citizens, amounting to 958 billion tenge. In 15 regions, the volume of payments to system participants exceeded the social contributions received for working citizens in the SSIF.

Only one type of social payment has no limits on its maximum amount—maternity and childbirth benefits. Therefore, some individuals find loopholes to obtain artificially inflated payments, leading to an unfair redistribution of social contributions from honest system participants," the minister said.

At present, 16 criminal cases have been initiated against 113 recipients, with the total damage caused by them amounting to 158.4 million tenge.

Since September 2024, about 1,500 recipients have voluntarily admitted to artificially inflating their income, which helped preserve the assets of the State Social Insurance Fund (SSIF) in the amount of 3.4 billion tenge.

"The Ministry has developed a package of legislative initiatives, the implementation of which will extend the financial sustainability of the mandatory social insurance system for the next 10 years," added Svetlana Zhakupova.

Speaking on the issue of social support for families in difficult life situations, the minister noted that, by order of the Head of State, family support centers are being established in all regions. As of today, there are 109 centers in the country, and by 2028, their number will reach 208.

The legislation defines the concepts of "difficult life situation" and "integrated model of social support." The Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan has been designated as the authorized body in the field of family policy. A joint order of the relevant government agencies has approved a Standard that provides a unified procedure for interagency cooperation among the participants of the process.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection (MLSP) has launched the FSM Social mobile application and is introducing in-depth questionnaires to identify the true causes of family deprivation and to develop effective support measures to help families overcome difficult life situations.

"Since 2024, a pilot project has been conducted at the "Zhanuya" Family support center in Astana. Starting from March, this work will be gradually scaled up across the country. We have already begun training the heads of family support centers from all regions," informed Svetlana Zhakupova.

The minister also noted that improving the effectiveness and targeting of social assistance remains another key challenge.

In 2024, addressed social assistance (ASA) was provided to 78,000 families totaling 39.5 billion tenge.

Over the past two years, around 19,000 people, or 4%, have been receiving ASA continuously. The largest proportion of "chronic" recipients is concentrated in Zhambyl region (10.8%), Atyrau region (6.7%), and Aktobe region (6.3%). This category requires an individual approach to help them out of poverty.

"Under the instruction of the Head of State, work is underway to transform the ASA system. Additional criteria have been developed to determine cases where assistance is no longer necessary.

Since January of this year, the activities of local commissions have been digitized through a mobile application.The information system now features an alternative ASA calculation mechanism that considers family income and expenses, with nationwide testing based on citizens' consent. To account for expenses, a joint order was adopted with the involvement of relevant government agencies. A service has been prepared to receive data from second-tier banks. However, their lack of readiness to integrate with the National Bank's system is currently preventing the launch of this initiative," said Svetlana Zhakupova.  

The head of the MLSP emphasized that the upcoming changes will help to identify truly vulnerable citizens and provide them with targeted state support.

Source: MLSP RK online resource https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/enbek/press/news/details/947220?lang=ru