Old Age Pension Schemes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe
1979; Wiley; Volume: 13; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1111/j.1467-9515.1979.tb00641.x
ISSN1467-9515
Autores Tópico(s)Social Policy and Reform Studies
ResumoSocial Policy & AdministrationVolume 13, Issue 1 p. 22-36 Old Age Pension Schemes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe J. L. Porket, J. L. PorketSearch for more papers by this author J. L. Porket, J. L. PorketSearch for more papers by this author First published: March 1979 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9515.1979.tb00641.xCitations: 5AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat REFERENCES 1 According to the GDR Constitution of 1974, for example, the right to work and the duty to work form a unity. Google Scholar 2 See e.g. the Romanian Labour Code of 1972 and the Czechoslovak Labour Code of 1975. Google Scholar 3 In the opinion of Josef Brcak and Hana Brydlova, the contemporary bourgeois social policy is part of the internal imperialistic policy, aiming at weakening the class struggle and increasing exploitation of the working people. (Mzdy v soudobem kapitalismu, Praha, Horizont, 1976, p. 62.). Google Scholar 4 The National Pensions Act was adopted on 14 July 1956 and came into force on 1 October 1956. (ILO, Legislative Series, 1956 — U.S.S.R. 4.). Google Scholar 5 Bernice Q. Madison, Social Welfare in the Soviet Union, Stanford , California , Stanford University Press, 1968, p. 195. Slightly different figures are given by V. P. Barybin and K. V. Protsenko, Sotsial'noe obespechenie, in A. P. Volkov (ed.), Trud i zarabotnaya plata v SSSR, Moskva, Izdatel'stvo “Ekonomika”, Second edition, 1974, p. 330. Google Scholar 6 M. Lantsev, Progress in Social Security for Agricultural Workers in the USSR, International Labour Review, Vol. 107, 1973, No. 3, pp. 239–252. Google Scholar 7 Mervyn Matthews, Soviet Government, A Selection of Official Documents on Internal Policies, London , Jonathan Cape, 1974, pp. 370–375. Google Scholar 8 As from 1 January 1968, for example, collective farmers may retire at the same age as workers. As from 1 July 1971, the method of calculating old-age, invalidity and survivors' pensions for workers has been extended to collective farmers. Google Scholar 9 Pravda, 14 December 1975. Google Scholar 10 On some current and perspective problems of social security in the Soviet Union see V.A. Acharkan, Tekushchie i perspektivnye problemy sotsial'nogo obespecheniya, Sovetskoe gosudarstvo i pravo, Vol. 1977, No. 4, pp. 20–26. Google Scholar 11 Igor Tomes, Basic Features of Old-age Pensions Schemes in Socialist Countries of Eastern Europe, International Social Security Review, Vol. XXI, 1968, No. 3, pp. 412–423. 10.1111/j.1468-246X.1968.tb00031.x Google Scholar 12 Feti Gjilani, State Social Insurances, Albania today, November-December 1972, No. 6, pp. 26–33. Google Scholar 13 J. L. Porket, Main Features of Social Security in Eastern Europe, Oxford , St. Anthony's College, Papers in East European Economics 51, 1977. Google Scholar 14 In Eastern Europe, collectivization in agriculture was launched in 1950, resumed in the late fifties, and completed by the spring of 1962. Since then, the only two exceptions have been Poland and Yugoslavia, where the majority of the arable land has continued to be in the hands of private farmers. Google Scholar 15 Social Security Protection for Members of Farmers' Co-operatives in Eastern Europe, International Labour Review, Vol. LXXXI, 1960, No. 4, pp. 319–334. Google Scholar 16 In Czechoslovakia, the old-age pension scheme for co-operative farmers was equalized with that for workers by an Act of November, 1975. Google Scholar 17 For example, in 1967 the age structure of the Czechoslovak co-operative farmers was as follows: 30.3 per cent were in the age category 15–39 years, 48.3 per cent were in the age category 40–59 years, and 21.4 per cent were in the age category 60 years and over. (Statisticka rocenka CSSR 1968, p. 334.) Google Scholar 18 International Social Security Review, Vol. XXVIII, 1975, No. 4, pp. 414–418. Google Scholar 19 For example, in the Soviet Union the retirement age for men is 50 years of age in the first category of work, 55 years of age in the second, and 60 years of age in the third. The qualifying period is 20 years in the first and 25 years in the second and third. Google Scholar 20 P. R. Kaim-Caudle, Comparative Social Policy and Social Security, A Ten-Country Study, London , Martin Robertson, 1973, pp. 191–192. Google Scholar 21 Constantin Badau, The Pensions Scheme in Rumania, International Social Security Review, Vol. XXII, 1969, No. 1, pp. 78–91. Google Scholar 22 For example, the qualifying period was 10 years in 1954, 14 years in 1959, and 20 years in 1965. Google Scholar 23 A partial old-age pension is provided to those persons who have attained the retirement age but have not satisfied the full qualifying period. For entitlement, the minimum qualifying period required is usually 10 years, in the Soviet Union five years. Google Scholar 24 Expressed differently, it can safely be assumed that even in Hungary and the GDR the worker must be employed for 25 years to be entitled to a full old-age pension. Google Scholar 25 In the Soviet Union, for instance, old-age pensions are calculated either on the basis of the average monthly wage over the last 12 months of work or, at the request of the worker, on the basis of the best five consecutive years among the last ten. According to a Romanian Act of December, 1966, old-age pensions are calculated on the basis of the average monthly wage over any five consecutive years of work, chosen by the worker, among the last ten. Google Scholar 26 With some exceptions, in the countries discussed the pension formula comprises, in addition to the basic pension rate, also increments and dependants' supplements. The increment is a percentage of the average monthly wage which is added to the basic pension rate for each year of service beyond a specified period, usually identical with the qualifying period. Google Scholar 27 According to a later source, the basic pension rate ranges from 55 to 85 percent of the average monthly wage. (S. Rusinov, Bolgariya na sovremennom etape ekonomicheskolgo razvitiya, Moskva, Izdatel'stvo “Mysl”, 1971, p. 236). Google Scholar 28 Alina Woznicka, The Evolution of Social Security in Poland in 1974, International Social Security Review, Vol. XXVIII, 1975, No. 1, pp. 63–64. Google Scholar 29 Socialni jistoty v CSSR Praha, Prace, 1975, p. 127. — Jaromir Marik — Jaroslav Soukup, Socialni zabezpeceni pracujicich, Praha, Prace, 1976, pp. 50–67. Google Scholar 30 For the years of insurance prior to 1946, the increase is 0.7 per cent of the average monthly earnings. Google Scholar 31 Thomas Wilson, (ed.), Pensions, Inflation and Growth, A Comparative Study of the Elderly in the Welfare State, London , Heinemann Educational Books, 1974, p. 354. Google Scholar 32 Edward James Andre Laurent, Social security: the European experiment, in Muriel Nissel (ed.). Social Trends, No. 5, 1974. London , Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1974, pp. 28–29. Google Scholar 33 A partial exception is Hungary where, starting from 1 January 1971, all pensions are automatically increased by two per cent annually in order to protect their purchasing power. According to L. Koszegi, after 1972 this increase was no longer realistic, especially for the pensioners who had been in retirement for many years and were already receiving low pensions. (Recent Price and Income Trends in Hungary, International Labour Review, Vol. iii, 1975, No. 2, p. 182.) Google Scholar 34 Calculated from Statisticka rocenka CSSR 1966, pp. 22–23 and 539, and Statisticka rocenka CSSR 1975, pp. 42–43 and 559. See also Vyvoj spolecnosti CSSR podle vysledku scitani lidu, domu a bytu 1970, Praha, Federalni ststisticky urad, 1975, p. 35. Google Scholar 35 Poland, A Handbook, Warsaw , Interpress Publishers, 1974, pp. 309–310. Google Scholar 36 Calculated from ibid. and Rocznik statystyczny 1974, p. 173. Google Scholar 37 Georgy Evgeniev, The Rise in Living Standards in Bulgaria: Some Problems, International Labour Review, Vol. 110, 1974, No. 1, p. 37. According to another calculation, the average annual old age and invalidity pension constituted 38.2 per cent of the average annual wage in 1952, 45.0 per cent in 1956, 46.3 per cent in 1960, 47.2 per cent in 1965, 44.4 per cent in 1970, and 43.2 per cent in 1973. (Statisticheski godishnik 1974, pp. 67, 68 and 70.). Google Scholar 38 Calculated from Statistical Yearbook 1965, p. 293, and Statistical Yearbook 1969, pp. 22–23. Google Scholar 39 Calculated from Statistical Yearbook 1969, pp. 22–23 and 350. Google Scholar 40 Calculated from Statistical Pocket Book of Hungary 1976, pp. 144 and 167. Google Scholar 41 Calculated from DDR — Wirtschraft, Eine Bestandsaufnahme, Frankfurt am Main, Fischer Bucherei, 1971, pp. 187 and 326, and Statistisches Jahrbuch 1974 der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, pp. 19 and 410. See also Jaroslav Krejci, Social Structure in Divided Germany, London, Croom Helm, 1976, p. 45. Google Scholar 42 Regarding the Soviet Union, Soviet sources claim that old-age pensions average 70 per cent of previous earnings. (V. Babkine, Old-age, Invalidity and Survivors' Pensions, Bulletin of the International Social Security Association, Vol. XVII, 1964, Nos. 8–9, p. 229. — Bernice Madison, Soviet Income Maintenance Policy for the 1970s, Journal of Social Policy, Vol. 2, 1973, No. 2, pp. 112–113.) However, this is questionable, even if it referred — as it apparently does — exclusively to old-age pensions recently awarded, not to old-age pensions in payment. Google Scholar 43 Jan Marczewski, Crisis in Socialist Planning, Eastern Europe and the USSR, New York — Washington — London , Praeger Publishers, 1974, pp. 213 and 216. Google Scholar 44 Gertrude E. Schroeder, Consumer Problems and Prospects, Problems of Communism, Vol. XXII, 1973, No. 2, pp. 10–24. Google Scholar 45 Quoted by Paul S. Shoup, Indicators of Socio-Politico-Economic Development, in Carmelo Mesa-Lago and Carl Beck (eds.), Comparative Socialist Systems: Essays on Politics and Economics, Pittsburgh , University of Pittsburgh Center for International Studies, 1975, p. 14, and Bogdan Mieczkowski, Personal and Social Consumption in Eastern Europe. Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and East Germany, New York — Washington — London, Praeger Publishers, 1975, p. 280. See also Helena Kocianova, Nektere vysledky srovnani zivotni urcvne obvyatelstva v CSSR, NSR a Rakousku, Politika ekonomie, Vol. XVII, 1969, No. 11, pp. 1034–1047. Google Scholar 46 Jaroslav Krejci, op. cit., p. 41. — Bogdan Mieckowski, op. cit., pp. 272–275. Google Scholar 47 For example, the average nominal old-age pension in the FRG was higher than that in the GDR by 46.0 per cent in 1957, by 85.9 per cent in 1965, by 130.3 per cent in 1970, and by 106.2 per cent in 1972. (Calculated from DDR — Wirtschaft, Eine Bestandsaufnahme, Frankfurt am Main, Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, 1974, p. 235). Google Scholar 48 Pavel Machonin et al., Ceskoslovenska spolecnost, Sociologicka analyza socialni stratifikace, Bratislava, Epocha , 1969. — David Lane, The End of Inequality? Stratification under State Socialism, Penguin Books, 1971. — Mervyn Matthews, Class and Society in Soviet Russia, London, Allen Lane The Penguin Press, 1972. — Murray Yanowitch and Wesley A. Fischer (eds.), Social Stratification and Mobility in the USSR1White Plains, N.Y., International Arts and Sciences Press, Inc., 1973. Google Scholar 49 Calculated from Statisticka rocenka CSSR 1976, p. 548. Google Scholar 50 Calculated from Statistical Yearbook 1965, p. 293, Statistical Yearbook 1969, p. 350, Statistical Pocket Book of Hungary 1976, p. 167. Google Scholar 51 Statisticka rocenka CSSR 1976, pp. 548 and 549. Google Scholar 52 Social Security in the German Democratic Republic, International Social Security Review, Vol. XX, 1967, No. 4, pp. 414–428. See also Thomas A. Baylis, The Technical Intelligentsia and the East German Elite, Legitimacy and Social Change in Mature Communism, Berkeley — Los Angeles — London, University of California Press, 1974, p. 31. Google Scholar 53 DDR — Wirtschaft, 1974, op. cit., p. 235. Google Scholar 54 Fejer Megyei Hirlap, 20/2/71, p. 6, in ABSEES Vol. II, 1971–1972, No. 1, p. 220. Google Scholar 55 In the Soviet Union, for instance, at least one half of all pensioners will have to exist on a per capita income level of less than fifty roubles a month, that is, below the official “minimum of material well-being”. (Bernice Madison, Soviet Income Maintenance Policy for the 1970s, op. cit., p. 112). Google Scholar 56 In Hungary, the average monthly full pension awarded in 1972 amounted to 1,969 forints. However, a considerable part of those retiring had not worked for the number of years required for a full pension, and thus their average monthly pension was lower, namely, 873 forints in the same year. (Matyas Timar, Reflections on the Economic Development of Hungary 1967–1973, Leyden, A. W. Sijthoff, and Budapest, Akademiai Kiado, 1975, p. 150). Google Scholar 57 P. Paillat, Europe is Ageing: Causes, Aspects and Repercussions of Demographic Ageing, International Social Security Review, Vol. XXIX, 1976, No. 2, pp. 152–166. 10.1111/j.1468-246X.1976.tb00948.x Google Scholar 58 Roy E. H. Mellor, Eastern Europe. A Geography of the Comecon Countries, The Macmillan Press Ltd., 1975, pp. 110–116. —Vyvoj spolecnosti CSSR podle vysledku scitahi lidu. domu a bytu 1970, op. cit., p. 283, Table 12. Google Scholar 59 Rocznik statystyczny 1974, p. 654. —Narodnoe khozyaistvo SSSR v 1974 godu, p. 614. Google Scholar 60 Frederic L. Pryor, Public Expenditures in Communist and Capitalist Nations, London , George Allen and Unwin Ltd., 1968, p. 418. — Michael Kaser, Health Care in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, London, Croom Helm, 1976, pp. 12 and 28. Google Scholar 61 On the declining proportion of the population in the productive age see Vyvoj spolecnosti CSSR podle vysledku scitani lidu, domu a bytu 1970, op. cit., p. 285, Table 14. Google Scholar 62 Prior to that date, the pension rate rose by 4 per cent of the average monthly wage for each year of service after entitlement. Google Scholar 63 Lev P. Yakushev, Old people's rights in the USSR and other European socialist countries, International Labour Review, Vol. 113, 1976, No. 2, p. 255. Google Scholar 64 See e.g. A. Novitskii and M. Babkina, Ratsional'nee ispol'zovat' trud pensionerov, Sotsialisticheskii trud, Vol. XX, 1975, No. 8, p. 125. Google Scholar 65 In addition, the working old-age pensioner is exempt from paying the social insurance contributions which the GDR worker must pay. Google Scholar 66 Lev. P. Yakushev, op. cit., p. 255. Google Scholar 67 In the West, there is a retirement condition in Britain and Belgium. Broadly speaking, there is no retirement condition attached to pensions in France, Germany, Italy, Sweden or the Netherlands. (R. A. Beattie, Belgium, in Thomas Wilson, op. cit., p. 314). Google Scholar 68 Lev P. Yakushev, op. cit., pp. 254–255. According to Hanns Werner Schwarze, while in West Germany 12 per cent of people of pensionable age carry on working, in the GDR the figure is twice as high. (The GDR Today, Life in the “Other” Germany, London, Oswald Wolff, 1973, p. 69). Google Scholar 69 Julius Rezler, Recent Developments in the Hungarian Labor Market, East European Quarterly, Vol. X, 1976, No. 2, p. 263. Google Scholar 70 Calculated from Statisticka rocenka CSSR 1975, p. 558, and Vyvoj spolecnosti CSSR podle vysledku scitani lidu, domu a bytu 1970, op. cit., p. 313. It also follows from the latter source that 15.5 per cent of all pensioners continued to work. (P. 137.). Google Scholar 71 Zycie Gospodarcze, 9/8/70, p. 8, in ABSEESt Vol. 1, 1970–1971, No. 3, p. 214. Google Scholar 72 A detailed analysis of the available statistical data should take into consideration the fact that in the countries discussed the retirement age for co-operative farmers may be higher than that for workers. Google Scholar 73 Jerzy Berent, Some Demographic Aspects of Female Employment in Eastern Europe and the USSR, International Labour Review, Vol. 101, 1970, No. 2, pp. 181–185. —25 let Ceskoslovenska, Statisticko-ekonomicky prehled vyvoje socialistickeho Ceskoslovenska v letech 1945–1970, Praha, Svoboda, 1970, p. 39. —Year Book of Labour Statistics 1976, Geneva, International Labour Office, pp. 36, 37, 38, 40 and 43. On economic activity rates in Great Britain see Profiles of the Elderly — Volume 1, Age Concern Research Publication, 1977, p. 9. Google Scholar 74 A. Novitskii and M. Babkina, Nepolnoe rabochee vremya i zanyatost' naseleniya, Voprosy ekonomiki, 1973, No. 7, pp. 133–140. Google Scholar 75 Ibid. and A. Novitskii and M. Babkina, Ratsional'nee is pol'zovat' trud pensionerov, op. cit., p. 124. It could also be recalled that in the Soviet Union, after the level of pensions had been increased substantially by the National Pensions Act of 1956, the proportion of pensioners who remained at work dropped dramatically from 60 per cent on 1 January 1956 to 20 per cent by January, 1958. (Bernice Q. Madison, Social Welfare in the Soviet Union, op. cit., p. 195). Google Scholar 76 A. Novitskii and M. Babkina, Ratsional'nee ispol'zovat' trud pensionerov, op. cit., p. 124. Google Scholar 77 According to a Romanian Decree of 1959, for instance, “Any person who, prior to 23 August 1944, was engaged in any anti-democratic or reactionary activity contrary to the interests of the people, any person who fought or took an active part in the introduction of the fascist military dictatorship and any person who has adopted a hostile attitude to the popular democratic regime shall forfeit entitlement to a pension and social assistance.” (ILO, Legislative Series, 1959 — Rum. 1.). Google Scholar 78 Igor Tomes, op. cit., p. 420. Google Scholar 79 This function of old-age pension schemes is not relevant to the Soviet Union, though. Google Scholar 80 Poland plans to introduce in the early eighties a general system of pensions for private farmers, financed out of a special fund created by state subsidies (two-thirds) and contributions paid by the farmers themselves (one-third). (Polish Perspectives, Vol. XX, 1977, Nos. 7–8, pp. 81–83). Google Scholar 81 One of the unmentioned functions is to punish workers for absenteeism from work. According to the Soviet regulations approved on 12 January 1957, for example, the more serious misdemeanour of truancy (defined as one day's absence from work without good reason, or arrival at work in a drunken state) might also be punished by a temporary reduction in pension rights. The regulations were still in force in the late sixties. (Mervyn Matthews, Class and Society in Soviet Russia, op. cit., pp. 57–58). Google Scholar 82 In contrast to the West, means-tested assistance (such as the housing allowance) does not seem to exist. Google Scholar 83 Inter alia, what is the impact of retirement on membership in the Communist party? Do Party members remain in the Party after retirement, or do they withdraw from it? In the affirmative case, what keeps them in the Party, and do their Party activities increase or decrease?. Google Scholar 84 For example, how often do old-age pensioners live in one household together with their married children? If this is the case, what role fo they play in the household, and to what extent do tensions and conflicts arise as a result of two or three generations living under one roof?. Google Scholar 85 In Bulgaria, for instance, a significant geriatric care problem has been posed by migration to the towns leading to an increase of the percentage of the solitary aged in rural areas. (Michael Kaser, op. cit., p. 97). Also a Hungarian report has drawn attention to the problem of lonely aged people: some 30 per cent of those over 60 years of age live on their own, and have no relations. (Nepszabadsag, 7/5/76, p. 4 in ABSEES, Vol. VII, 1976, No. 4, p. 179). Google Scholar Citing Literature Volume13, Issue1March 1979Pages 22-36 ReferencesRelatedInformation
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