Russia has initiated strengthened control over the payment of pensions to Russian citizens living in South Ossetia after they identified cases of excessive payments totally more than ₽37 million ($415,000), which were allegedly transferred to the accounts of deceased persons.
According to the data presented in the explanatory note to the protocol on amendments to the agreement between Russia and South Ossetia on pension provision, the fraudulent payments were paid out between January 2016 and October 2024.
The note claimed that the main reason for these overpayments was the late notification of the death of pensioners, which led to continued accrual of payments to their accounts.
To solve this problem, the Russian government had submitted a bill to the Russian parliament on the ratification of a protocol providing for amendments to the current agreement on pension provision for citizens of Russia permanently residing in South Ossetia. The document was published in the parliament’s electronic database on 21 February 2025.
The proposed amendments are aimed at strengthening the responsibility of the relevant parties for the expenditure of funds allocated by Russia for the payment of pensions and supplementary payments thereto. In particular, the South Ossetian side will be obliged to return the amounts of pensions and supplementary payments that were received unlawfully by relatives of deceased pensioners. These funds may subsequently be recovered from the guilty parties by way of recourse.
The agreement on pension provision between Russia and South Ossetia was signed in 2015. However, problems related to excessive payments have arisen previously, which is the reason for the current amendments.
In addition to issues of control over payments, South Ossetia has seen a significant increase in the number of pensioners.
According to South Ossetia’s Labour Ministry, the number of pensioners rose from 4,679 in 2020 to 6,343 by the end of 2024. The ministry has forecast there to be 7,101 pensioners registered in 2025.
Due to the increasing number of pensioners and the need to ensure timely payments, Russia plans to allocate more than ₽1 billion ($11 million) in 2025 to cover all pension liabilities in the republic.
Earlier, in 2023, South Ossetia increased all pensions by 8%, which increased the average pension to ₽9,000 ($100).
Liza was born and raised in Vladikavkaz and now lives in Prague. She has previously worked for RFE/RL, ASTRA, Belsat, and others. She is currently completing her Master's degree in Russian Studies at Charles University in Prague, specialising in the study of military and inter-ethnic conflicts in the North Caucasus. In her free time, Liza shoots feature films, writes about cinema, and travels — she has visited exactly 50 countries and is not going to stop there.
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