The Kremlin is preparing plans to transfer Russians’ pension savings into a state-backed long-term investment program, potentially redirecting trillions of rubles toward infrastructure and government-linked projects, according to Ukrainian intelligence.
The move comes as Moscow faces growing financial pressure under sanctions and sustained wartime spending.
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
Trillions in pension funds at stake
According to Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service, the proposal could affect around 3 trillion rubles (about $37 billion) held in pension accounts of approximately 37 million Russians who have not selected a private fund to manage their savings.
Under the plan, the funds would be redirected to non-state pension funds for investment in infrastructure and state projects, providing the economy with so-called “long money.”
The intelligence service said the main beneficiary could be the pension fund “Blagosostoyanie,” whose shareholders include major state-linked entities such as Russian Railways, Gazprombank and Russia’s national economic development institution (VEB).
Echoes of past pension freezes
The proposal follows earlier measures taken by the Russian government to manage fiscal shortfalls.
In 2014, shortly after the annexation of Crimea and the introduction of Western sanctions, authorities froze the funded portion of pensions. At the time, 6% of pension contributions that were meant for individual savings accounts were redirected to cover current pension payments.
Other Topics of Interest
