Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Jan. 2 / Trend D. Azizov /
From January 1, 2010 fixing, finance, accounting and monitoring the payment of pensions and social benefits, compensation and other payments in Uzbekistan will be carried out by territorial units of extra-budgetary Pension Fund of the Ministry of Finance, Uzbek President Islam Karimov's decree "Measures on further improvement of pensions" said.
"It is necessary to determine that from January 1, 2010 fixing, finance, accounting and monitoring the payment of pensions and social benefits, compensation and other payments are implemented by relevant territorial units of the Pension Fund," the document says.
The preamble of the document states that it was accepted to further improve the organizational structure of the pension system, the timely funding and implementation of the full payment of pensions and social benefits from extra-budgetary Pension Fund, as well as strengthen control over target use of funds.
According to the decree, the territorial units of the Pension Fund will be formed in regions, towns of the country through the transfer of functions and relevant organizations in the system of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, responsible for all issues of pension provision and medical-labor expertise of citizens.
The Presidential Decree on the Pension Fund envisages additional tasks and functions, including state provision of citizens with pensions, fixing pensions, social benefits, compensation and other payments, recalculation of pensions and other benefits in accordance with established legislation.
Moreover, the Pension Fund will be responsible for full funding and paying pensions and other grants, accounting and reporting, conducting ongoing analysis and monitoring accounting and recalculation of pensions, targeted use of funds for pensions, collecting funds for payment pensions designated for disability resulting from an industrial injury or occupational disease, medical services and labor expertise.
In 2001, Uzbekistan withdrew the Pension Fund from the ministry and transformed it into the off-budget Pension Fund. The Ministry was entrusted with the responsibility to create a forecast balance of incomes and expenditures of the fund, to ensure the timely accounting and payment of pensions and benefits, as well as control over the correctness of charges and timely granting. Minister of Social Welfare and leaders of social security bodies have operated as managers of the fund's means up to now.
That time, the government equated payments to the pension fund envisaged by the legislation with state taxes.
In January 2005, off-buget Pension Fund of Uzbekistan, operated under the ministry, was transformed into the Pension Fund under the Ministry of Finance.
The main sources of incomes of the Pension Fund are the premiums of enterprises, institutions and organizations, obligatory insurance contributions of citizens and obligatory deductions of enterprises, institutions and organizations from the actual amount of sold production (operations, services).
Obligatory deductions of enterprises and organizations to the Pension Fund are fixed at 1.5 percent in the state budget of Uzbekistan for 2010. The rate of the single social payment for legal entities is 25 percent. About 24.8 percent are transferred to the Pension Fund. It is also envisaged that one percent of income tax is spent to form individual savings account, four percent - to form incomes of the Fund. A maximal rate of income tax was fixed at 22 percent in 2010.
According to the ministry, at present, there are about 3.4 million pensioners in Uzbekistan. The minimal pension given seniority is 74,660 sums, grants to people disabled from childhood - 74,660 sums, and grants to old people and disabled citizens without seniority - 45,220 sums.
Incomes of the Pension Fund for 2010 were approved by Uzbek President Islam Karimov to the amount of $5.326 trillion sums. Moreover, deducations from the single social payment are planned to be received to the amount of 3,322 trillion soums, obligatory deductions from sale of goods - 975.8 billion sums, obligatory insurance payments of citizens - 532,5 billion sums.
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