Legislation
Federal Law No. 166, which is responsible for assigning pensions and other social benefits, does not contain any specifics for challenging the activities of Pension Fund employees.
The opportunity to complain is enshrined in Federal Law No. 59: the normative act establishes the procedure for interaction between citizens and government bodies. Since the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation is a government agency, the rules apply to it.
Article 4 of the law defines a complaint as a request by the applicant to restore violated rights and interests.
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What can you complain about?
Any violation of rights and freedoms must be protested. The law does not provide a strict list of grounds on which it is allowed to complain about the work of the Pension Fund. Employee negligence should not go unpunished, especially when it concerns one of the most important social security structures.
Specific examples:
- incorrect recalculations;
- delay in consideration of the application;
- unreasonable refusal to provide a service;
- requesting additional documentation not specified in the law;
- illegal charging of fees for free manipulations.
Violations can be procedural or material: you can complain about non-compliance with the procedure for accepting applications and about infringement of the interests of applicants.
When to contact the prosecutor's office
The prosecutor's office does not consider all complaints against the Pension Fund, but only the most serious ones. They are turning to it not with a request to punish the Pension Fund, but in an attempt to understand the situation and turn it to their advantage, if it is known that the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation specifically limits your freedoms and rights regarding pension provision.
You should not contact the prosecutor's office if:
- You were rude.
- You sat in line for a long time.
- There is an error in the documents and the employees refuse to correct it.
- There was a slight delay in processing the application (1-2 days).
All these issues are decided by the head of the Pension Fund unit, and it is at the local level that they can be eliminated without involving a prosecutor or a serious audit.
However, most of the offenses committed by the Pension Fund of Russia relate to cash contributions to future or current pensioners. It is in such cases that a complaint to the prosecutor’s office will have an effect:
- Your pension was calculated incorrectly, payments were limited, and years of work were not included in your length of service.
- Payments stopped for some unknown reason, and the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation is silent and does not give an explanation.
- You were illegally denied a pension or additional payments, citing unknown orders from above.
- You were forced to pay for free government services or asked for a bribe.
- The Pension Fund employee says that your problem is not in his area of responsibility.
- The head of the Pension Fund is inactive or refuses to consider your complaint.
- There is a long delay in processing your application.
- You are being threatened by co-workers or your boss, or are putting your life in danger.
The prosecutor's office is a supervisory authority, and in these cases it is obliged to launch an audit of the PFR unit and the actions of its employees. It doesn’t matter whether you are a pensioner or have only reached pre-retirement age. You are a citizen of the Russian Federation, and the prosecutor’s office will accept your complaint in any case.
Where and to whom to complain about the Pension Fund
The activities of the Pension Fund of Russia are controlled at different levels from the administration of the unit to the courts. It is worth considering the characteristics of each supervisory authority.
IMPORTANT! When appealing the actions of non-governmental organizations, you need to contact not the Pension Fund branches, but the company itself and its superiors.
File a complaint via the hotline
If a citizen urgently needs to deal with a specific problem (find out the cause of violations, find out additional circumstances), then a hotline number is available for contact. The operator will advise the citizen on all necessary issues.
The nuance of this method of treatment is that serious conflicts cannot be resolved. The hotline is useful for quick consultation and clarification of reasons, but not for investigation.
Employees record every call and the essence of messages, so you can complain through the hotline. However, the applicant will not be able to convey all the necessary information, and employees will not be able to record all the circumstances of the case, which will lead to a low quality of conflict resolution.
Pension Fund branch
The most common way. Department employees are required to accept documentation from applicants and register the fact of filing acts. Each territorial branch of the Pension Fund of Russia (district, local or federal funds) must be equipped with a place for receiving applications. The citizen should submit documentation to a competent employee.
Know! The nuance of applying through the department is the processing time. Employees may forget about a claim or become late.
Head of territorial department
The working way is to write a complaint. Sending a protest to your immediate superiors allows you to skip the chain of employees who pass papers to each other and only then send the acts to the address.
The head of the territorial department decides on the merits of appeals. Grounds for submitting the document: action or inaction of an official reporting to the superiors of a unit of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation.
IMPORTANT! If you need to complain about the management itself, the complaint is addressed to the higher territorial body of the Pension Fund.
Write to the prosecutor's office
If the violation is in the nature of an administrative offense or crime, then the protest can be sent to the prosecutor's office. Employees, if documents are submitted to them, will themselves submit the reports to the supervisory authority if there are serious violations. The prosecutor's office examines all materials in the case and initiates an investigation. If a violation actually occurred, then legal proceedings will begin.
To court
An effective way. Complaints against the Pension Fund are considered by courts of general jurisdiction. If employees of the Russian Federation abuse their powers and commit outrages, then you can write a statement. The main point is to prepare evidence of wrongdoing. Without confirmation, you won’t be able to win a single trial.
IMPORTANT! Of particular note are the strict requirements for the form and content of documents. If the application to the Pension Fund does not have a strict template, then the application to the court must be drawn up according to specific rules.
Sample and drawing rules
A complaint to the prosecutor's office is an official document on the basis of which the prosecutor will authorize an official audit of a government agency. Accordingly, there are requirements for a complaint - it must be drawn up without the use of profanity, threats, insults and unlawful demands.
Adhere to a structure that is typical for all documents and requests. The header should include information about where you are sending the complaint and who you are. Don't forget to write your address and phone number if you really want someone to answer it. Next, after the word “Complaint” in the middle, you will need to describe the situation that arose at the Pension Fund of Russia, quote the employees’ responses, attach documentary refusals or decisions about the impossibility of fulfilling your requirements, and also request verification of illegal actions against you. Be sure to refer to dates, laws and statutes. Also, provide sufficiently compelling arguments for your appeal.
Important! It is advisable not to ask the prosecutor’s office to punish the FIU that “offended” you, because this body does not deal with punishments. Just ask for verification and leave the punishment to the judiciary.
Expert opinion
Also, remember that unsigned complaints, complaints without your name (anonymous), as well as those full of threats and profanity will not even be considered. In these cases, you will face a lawful refusal, if not a counter-complaint or even a lawsuit for insults.
This is important to know: Appealing a representation from the prosecutor's office
How to submit
There are several options for filing a complaint. If previously only one method was effective, now it is permissible to use other methods.
Personal reception
A visit to the Pension Fund office is an effective option for restoring rights and freedoms. Reception at the branch guarantees the fact of submitting documentation (it is not lost along the way) and the opportunity to directly deal with the problem “on the spot”.
The nuances of personal reception - you need to prepare paper media and stand in line. Despite the disadvantages, direct contact is the only workable option when a serious problem needs to be solved.
Post office
Pension Fund branches accept applications from citizens by mail; all you need to do is find out the branch address and pay for the postage. Delivery time varies from 3 days to 2 weeks depending on the location of the pension authority. It is worth considering the delivery time: the period for reviewing the act begins not from the moment the letter is sent, but from registration.
Attention! It is recommended to use: this way the person will have proof of sending. The Pension Fund will not be able to refer to the absence of an application.
Write electronically
With the introduction of Internet technologies, the possibilities for writing complaints have also expanded. The following types of online appeal are available to citizens:
- Email;
- official site;
- "Government Services".
The departments of the social authority have their own email addresses where letters can be sent. In addition to emails, the user can fill out a special form on the official website of the fund.
The structure has its own service for considering applications from citizens. An alternative is the state portal “Gosuslugi”: the platform will redirect messages from the user to the right authority.
If you choose between online services, then preference should be given to the official website of the Pension Fund. Email inboxes can be filled with messages where truly important information can easily get lost.
The state portal will take time to send the message. Moreover, the final addressee will still be the territorial branch of the Pension Fund.
Submission methods
Filing a complaint against the Pension Fund of Russia to the prosecutor's office begins with determining which prosecutor's office to file with. This must be done at the place of your registration and location of your Pension Fund - to the district division of the prosecutor's office.
For convenience, you can submit a complaint in one of three ways:
- A letter with copies of documents attached to the address of your local prosecutor's office. It must be registered, since postal receipts are your guarantee and proof that you sent a complaint at all.
- Bring the application with copies of documents in person to the prosecutor's office at the place of registration. This can be done either simply or by making an appointment with the prosecutor. Through the recording, you will have the opportunity to describe the situation to the official personally. Without an appointment, your complaint will be accepted by the secretariat.
- Use the automated online contact form at https://ipriem.genproc.gov.ru/contacts/ipriem/. This is the website of the reception office of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation, through which electronic complaints are submitted with scans/photos of documents attached. Review is fast. Such complaints are processed equally (and sometimes faster) than paper ones. The only limitation is that the text of the complaint cannot be more than 2000 characters. I'll have to write briefly.
Whatever method you choose, you need to make sure that you have evidence that you filed a complaint with the prosecutor:
- For a regular letter - a receipt from the post office about sending.
- For personal submission - a mark on the second (your) copy of the complaint about the date and name of the specialist who accepted the documents from you.
- In electronic form - data about your application will be sent by email, and the application itself will be assigned a number in the system. It should be preserved.
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Pension fund management
The primary authority to which complaints from dissatisfied clients are sent is the management of the territorial branch of the Pension Fund of Russia. There are similar branches in every subject of the federation. The manager is obliged to consider the submitted application, checking the facts stated in it. However, it should be borne in mind that his powers do not go beyond the imposition of disciplinary sanctions on the offending employee.
For example, the head of a department has the right to reprimand his subordinate and deprive him of his bonus. As a last resort, make personnel changes - demote the employee in position, or dismiss him completely, if such a step is permissible from the point of view of labor legislation. Therefore, complaints about the professionalism of service, rude or tactless behavior towards visitors should be addressed to this address.
An application with a complaint to the head of the fund’s department can be submitted either in writing or orally, having previously made an appointment with him. In the case of a written application, there are no strict writing standards. The paper is written in free form, however, the basic principles should be observed - the document should clearly and clearly reflect the essence of the problem that has arisen and indicate your data.
In a situation where the immediate management of the negligent Pension Fund employee did not respond to the signal, you can send your complaint to a higher authority - the central office of the pension fund. There are two ways to send a claim to this address - by registered mail, and by filing a claim online. The paper application is drawn up on an A-4 sheet according to standards, which we will discuss in more detail below. To submit an electronic complaint, you will need to go to the Pension Fund website, or use the online portal “Gosuslugi”.
How to compose?
A complaint is drawn up like any official document. Let's take a detailed look at the structure and approximate content of your appeal.
The document header looks like this:
- The name of the prosecutor's office to which the complaint is sent;
- Your full name, address, contact information (anonymous complaints to the prosecutor's office will not be considered).
In the title we write “Complaint”.
In the body of the document, you should try to succinctly convey the essence of the complaint, adhering to the following rules:
- The text should not contain profanity or insults;
- The complaint must be written to the point, without speculation or conjecture;
- It's worth referring to dates;
- If there is additional documentation, then it is worth referring to it in the text, and at the end provide a list of documents;
- As a requirement, you can put forward a request for an inspection. There is no point in demanding that Pension Fund employees be punished. The determination of punishment is the responsibility of the court.
- We set the date of completion and certify the document with a signature.
- Terms of consideration
Civil appeals are considered by the prosecutor's office in accordance with the general procedure. On average, the processing time is approximately 30 days . If your complaint does not require verification, an explanation will be sent to you within 15 days.
Sample
Responsibilities of Pension Fund employees
Today, the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, founded in 1990, is the largest structure through which the state provides a range of services to citizens, and also implements many social programs of a national nature. The activities of the pension fund are regulated by the provisions of federal legislation, as well as by-laws and the internal charter of the organization.
Among the main functions of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation are:
- Accrual and payment of pension benefits for old age, loss of a breadwinner, length of service, etc.
- Making payments to certain categories of persons - Heroes of the Russian Federation and the USSR, war veterans, disabled people.
- Issuance of certificates and funds at the birth of a second child (maternity capital).
- Accumulation, control and management of financial resources collected in the form of mandatory pension contributions and voluntary payments from citizens.
- Carrying out personal records of all persons entitled to receive pension payments.
Like other civil servants, pension fund employees are required to comply with the code of conduct defined in the Federal Law “On the Civil Service System of the Russian Federation” of 2003, as well as the internal code of ethics for fund employees, introduced in 2013. In accordance with these regulatory documents, among other things , Pension Fund employees are obliged to:
- Carry out your official duties conscientiously,
- Carry out work exclusively within the scope of your official authority.
- Do not receive any additional personal benefits from working with clients, with the exception of the amount of remuneration established by the employment contract.
- Avoid rudeness towards Pension Fund clients and, if possible, avoid any conflict situations with them.
- Maintain business etiquette towards your colleagues and visitors to the establishment.
At the same time, according to data for 2020, the Russian Pension Fund system employs about 12 thousand employees, which makes the Pension Fund the largest social organization in the world. It is clear that it is impossible to completely avoid some kind of offenses and mistakes in such a vast structure, which has 89 branches throughout the country.
How to compose text
Many people are so offended by the FIU's actions or in such great shock that their complaints turn into a free five-page story about the injustice of the situation. The prosecutor still reads such stories, but the chance that after considering such a complaint something positive will happen is tiny.
A complaint against the Pension Fund to the prosecutor's office must be:
- Clear and concise. The electronic reception does not accept texts of more than 2000 characters at all. Leave your emotions at home and write briefly, specifically describing what happened, when, where, and who the characters were (with full names). Example: not “two weeks ago”, but “03/28/2019”, not “PFR employee”, but the employee’s full name.
- Actual. Speculation is not accepted. You must know exactly where your rights were violated and provide the prosecutor with facts that have evidence or a legal basis. If you do not know for sure whether the Pension Fund employees violated the law, ask the prosecutor's office to conduct a factual check, describing the legality of how you see the situation.
- Truthful. Embellishments, open lies “to harass the Foundation” and other slander are punishable by law. Stick to the truth, it will be easy to verify.
- Goal-setting. What do you want to achieve from the prosecutor’s office and the Pension Fund in connection with everything that happened? The “Consider the situation” option is an example of poor goal setting. “Conduct an audit of the actions of Pension Fund employees” or “Achieve a review of the case” is already better.
- Not anonymous. Anonymous messages and complaints without your contact information will not be considered.
Sample
Text structure
Despite the fact that a complaint is considered a document drawn up in free form, it has a fairly clear structure that must be followed:
- The header area is required for paper complaints. In the electronic version, it is replaced by filling out forms with your full name, address and other mandatory information about you. If you write on paper, take care to correctly write the name of the prosecutor's office where you are filing. Don't forget to leave your contacts for feedback. Registration address and telephone number are required.
- The main part of the complaint is actually presented in the form of a story about what happened. You need to follow the logic of the story - start with when you contacted the Pension Fund, at what time, at what time, indicate the names of the specialists with whom you communicated and who violated your rights. Then move on to the essence of the problem and end with demands addressed to the prosecutor’s office - what you want the prosecutor to do.
Remember that the prosecutor cannot be asked to “punish” your offenders sitting in the Pension Fund.
- The final part must be dated and signed by you. In the electronic version, it can be omitted, since the system enters the date independently.
Important! If you attach the text of the complaint as an attachment to the online reception, the entire structure of the complaint must be completely printed in this text, as in a simple paper document.
- The list of attached documents is the final part of your complaint. Here you need to indicate what you are submitting to the prosecutor for consideration, to what extent and in what form.
Important! Do not send evidence and important documents in the original - they may be lost. The prosecutor's office only needs copies of your documents. If you need to look at the originals, you will be called to an appointment.
Where to complain?
For issues that the Pension Fund is not authorized to resolve, you should contact the prosecutor's office. A complaint here will help you figure out the problem yourself, because here a pension law specialist can provide you with an explanation of your complaint and help you solve the problem.
The advantage of contacting the prosecutor's office is also that it does not require legal knowledge and can be sent orally at an appointment with the prosecutor. You will be required to clearly convey to the employee what specific inconsistencies or violations you want to appeal.
Steps to take before filing a complaint
It is not recommended to immediately go to the prosecutor's office after an offense. The regulatory authorities must understand that you tried to resolve the situation peacefully and locally. Therefore, your first complaint should be to the Pension Fund itself, where you are served - addressed to the boss. When consideration or satisfaction of your petition is refused in writing, you can begin to prepare a package of documents for the prosecutor’s office.
The prosecutor will need from you:
- The text of the complaint itself with a detailed explanation of what happened, when, where and what your rights were violated.
- Evidence that the Pension Fund of Russia did not act in accordance with the law - a refusal from the head of the Pension Fund of Russia, legal recordings of conversations with employees, testimony of witnesses, checks for services, etc. will be useful here.
- Documents regarding your case being considered by the Pension Fund, with which you can also confirm that you were treated incorrectly.
If what you brought is not enough, the prosecutor will send you a list of missing documents within 5 days from the date of filing the complaint, and you must promptly submit them so that a full check can begin.
By law, the prosecutor’s office can consider the complaint itself within 1 month, but usually, with all the documents in place, this time is no more than 2 weeks. During this time, the prosecutor will check not only the PFR unit itself, but also the legislative framework. If the violation is confirmed, they will help you file a claim with the courts to oblige the Pension Fund to comply with the requirements of the law.
Important! The prosecutor does not have the right to “oblige” the Pension Fund to do something. He's just checking. In serious, especially monetary, matters, punishment is the prerogative of the court.
What to do if your pension is delayed
So, where to complain if your pension on a Sberbank card or a card from any other bank is delayed? To begin with, there is no need to immediately worry and panic. If the funds have not arrived on the card at the appointed time, then you should wait at least 5-7 days. Payment of a pension, like any other social benefits, is a complex process from a technical point of view, so there may be a failure somewhere. And if such a failure is eliminated, the money may arrive in a bank account in a few days.
Important! A delay in pensions for a week is the norm, and when it occurs, there is no need to complain anywhere, since there will be no reaction from representatives of the executive branch and the pension fund.
If the pension has not been credited to the account within a week, then you need to contact the bank (in the event that the pensioner receives the money on a bank card and not through Russian Post). You need to get real confirmation from the bank that no money has been deposited into your account.
To do this you need to obtain two documents:
- A bank statement of the account, which will show the movement of funds in the account and confirm the fact that there were no receipts from the Pension Fund;
- A certificate from a banking institution stating that no money has been received into the account over the past month.
When two documents are in hand, you can contact the territorial division of the Pension Fund with them. It is not advisable to contact the Pension Fund without bank documents. Upon receipt of the application, PF employees must respond to the application and figure out where the error lies. They have no right not to respond to their client’s statement. You should also know that an application to the Pension Fund can be submitted either as a simple information letter or as a complaint. The period for consideration of the complaint is 30 days. The main thing when drawing up such a document is to draft it correctly. And although there are no official recommendations regarding the standard form of such a complaint, there are generally required document details that cannot be avoided.
Mandatory information that must be indicated in the complaint statement regarding the delay in pension:
- The full name of the institution where the complaint is being filed. It is necessary to indicate the territorial subordination of the PF branch;
- Full details of the applicant: full name of the citizen, year of birth, residential address, contact details;
- Briefly state the essence of the problem.
For example: I, Ivan Petrovich Ivanov, did not receive a pension for January 2020 on a Sberbank bank card, for which there are supporting documents - a bank statement; - Express the requirements or the result that needs to be achieved: a request to pay pensions for August in full as soon as possible;
- Date of preparation and filing of the complaint;
- List of documents that are attached to the complaint.
At the moment, writing a complaint in most cases solves the problem, and the person receives his money within a month. Sometimes it turns out that the Pension Fund may refuse to accept a complaint, citing the fact that they already know the reason for non-payment, for example, lack of money. In this case, it is better not to give up your intentions and file a complaint anyway. In this case, if funds become available, the applicant’s candidacy will be in the forefront of those to whom the money will need to be paid.