Getting housing assistance

In the Republic of Kazakhstan, by joint order of the Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated May 23, 2023 No. 163, the Minister of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated May 26, 2023 No. 304, amendments and additions were made to the Regulations for the interaction of the competent authority with the authorized bodies of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the implementation of the Agreement on pension provision for workers of member states of the Eurasian Economic Union dated December 20, 2019, approved by orders of the Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated March 4, 2021. No. 62, Minister of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated April 28, 2021. No. 249 (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations), which entered into force on May 26, 2023. In accordance with the amendments and additions to the Regulations: 1) the competent authorities in the Republic of Kazakhstan to confirm the length of service of workers of the EAEU member states are JSC UAPF, the Committee of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan and their territorial divisions; 2) upon receipt from the competent authority of a member state of the EAEU of the “Request” form about the work experience of a worker in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the period: - from January 1, 1998 , the competent authority of the Republic of Kazakhstan - UAPF - sends to the competent authority of the Member State that sent the request a response with the attachment of the form On work experience based on data on the payment of mandatory pension contributions available in the information system; - from March 13, 1992 to December 31, 1997 , the competent authority of the Republic of Kazakhstan - the Committee of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population - within the time limits established by the Administrative Procedural Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, takes measures to request the necessary information and documents from the employer (his successor) or archival institutions, which, after receiving them, will be sent to the competent authority of the Member State by filling out the form On work experience . Let us recall that the Agreement on pension provision for workers of the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union dated December 20, 2019 (hereinafter referred to as the Agreement) came into force on January 1, 2021 and applies to workers and family members. In accordance with the provisions of the Agreement: - the formation of pension rights of workers is carried out at the expense of pension contributions on the same conditions and in the same manner as the formation of pension rights of citizens of the state of employment (Article 3); - in the Republic of Kazakhstan, pension contributions include pension contributions to the UAPF (Article 1); - the exercise of the right to assign and pay pensions to workers (family members) is carried out under the same conditions as for citizens of the state of employment (Article 3); - types of pensions assigned under the Agreement are determined by Article 2 of the Agreement.

Contributors' pension savings consist of pension contributions and accrued investment income. The investment of pension assets is carried out by the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Investment Portfolio Managers (IPM). With the adoption of the Social Code on July 1, 2023, contributors are given the right to transfer up to 50% of pension savings at the expense of CPC and (or) COPC to IPM, regardless of the adequacy threshold, voluntary pension contributions (VPC) - within the available amount in the individual pension saving account (IPSA). In addition, contributors who have entered into pension annuity agreements with insurance companies, providing them with lifetime annuity benefits, can transfer their pension savings in full to IPM. The Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (authorized body) has developed special requirements for IPM. IPMs have a license to manage an investment portfolio, successful experience in the market and managing client assets, positive results of financial and economic activities over the past few years, a sufficient amount of equity capital to cover losses associated with investing pension assets and are included in the register of the authorized body. In addition, the IPM must enter into an agreement with the UAPF on the trust management of pension assets, and also have a tripartite custodial agreement with the UAPF and the custodian bank. Today, the register of IPMs that meet all the requirements for managing pension assets includes five IPMs: Jusan invest JSC, BCC Invest JSC, Centras Securities JSC, Halyk Global Markets JSC, Halyk Finance JSC. Their list is posted on the website enpf.kz. Pension asset managers - the National Bank and IPM have their own strategy for investing pension assets and independently determine the structure of the investment portfolio within the framework of the investment declaration. Thus, IPMs themselves determine which financial instruments, within the list of those permitted in accordance with the Rules for the implementation of investment portfolio management activities, will be used for investing pension assets. These can be financial instruments in various sectors of the economy, different currencies in Kazakhstan and abroad. Before transferring part of your pension savings from CPC and/or COPC into trust for IPM, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with information about them and study their investment declarations. This can be done on the website www.enpf.kz in the “Services” section - “Register of investment portfolio managers”. Detailed statistics on the transfer of pension savings at the expense of CPC and (or) COPC into trust management are also available on the website www.enpf.kz in the “Indicators” section - “Transfer of pension savings to management companies”. IPMs are entitled to charge investment management fees not to exceed 7.5% of investment income. The actual amount of the commission is approved annually by the IPM management body and can change no more than once a year. Current information on IPM commissions for 2023 is also posted on the enpf.kz website in the section: “Services” - “Register of investment portfolio managers”. After choosing the IPM that best suits your investment preferences, you need to contact the UAPF with an application to transfer pension savings at the expense of CPC and (or) COPC into trust management of one or more IPMs. This can be done in your personal account on the enpf.kz website using an electronic digital signature or by visiting one of the UAPF offices. Pension savings at the expense of CPC and (or) COPC are transferred within 30 calendar days from the date of receipt of the application. It can be canceled before the UAPF transfers the declared amount to IPM. The status of consideration can be checked in your personal account on the Fund’s website. Pension savings from CPC and (or) COPC can be transferred from one IPM to another no more than once a year. If you decide to return the savings to the management of the NBRK, this can be done 1 years after the transfer of pension savings at the expense of CPC and (or) COPC from the NBRK to IPM. 10 working days before the contributor reaches retirement age, all pension savings at the expense of the contributor’s CPC and (or) COPC are returned under the investment management of the National Bank. During the period when pension savings are under the management of the National Bank until the contributor reaches retirement age, a guarantee of the safety of pension savings taking into account the level of inflation is in effect. When transferring pension savings into trust management by IPM, the state guarantee is replaced by a guarantee from the management company to ensure a minimum level of return on pension assets, which is calculated based on the weighted average return on pension assets transferred to the management of IPM operating on the market. The minimum return and weighted average return on pension assets are calculated monthly and published on the official website of the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Indeed, there are now more and more cases of scammers sending false information on social networks. Fraudsters write about the possibility of withdrawing pension savings without taking into account the threshold of minimum adequacy of pension savings (hereinafter referred to as TMA). This newsletter is fake - it does not correspond to reality. Receiving pension benefits before retirement age (at which TMA is not taken into account) is possible only in cases provided for by the Social Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, namely: when leaving for permanent residence outside the Republic of Kazakhstan; in connection with disability of groups 1 and 2, established for an indefinite period; within the framework of a pension annuity agreement concluded with an insurance company. It is also possible to use pension savings for housing and/or medical treatment only in the cases established by the Code: - if you have pension savings exceeding TMA; - in case of concluding a pension annuity agreement with an insurance company; - if you are a long-service pensioner; - if you are an old-age pensioner and your total pension is at least 40% of lost income. In this case, you will be able to use up to 50% of the savings available in the mandatory pension account. The UAPF strongly recommends ignoring the fake messages being spread and receiving information from official sources. We remind you that you can get advice on the funded pension system both at UAPF branches and remotely: through the website enpf.kz, mobile application БЖЗҚ/ЕНПФ, through multi-channel free communication by calling the call center number 1418, as well as via WhatsApp at +7 777 000 1418, on the official pages of the UAPF on social networks on such popular platforms as Odnoklassniki, Telegram, Facebook, VKontakte, Twitter and Instagram.

Due to the completion of the transition to the “Bank-Client” remote banking system of the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan, from September 1, 2023, it is necessary to transfer pension contributions only using the new UAPF details. Description Details BIC of the beneficiary NBRKKZKX IIC of the beneficiary KZ92125KZT1002303300 Contributors can transfer voluntary pension contributions (VPC) independently or through employers through second-tier banks and branches of Kazpost JSC. As for the payment of compulsory pension contributions, compulsory occupational pension contributions, they are subject to transfer to the State Corporation, which, in turn, transfers them to the UAPF using the current details.

Now the fastest way to inform about pension savings is online information in your personal account on the website enpf.kz or in the UAPF mobile application. If previously the contributor received information about his savings via postal communication and (or) e-mail, now there is an opportunity to refuse these methods that are losing their relevance. To do this, you do not need to go to the UAPF office and sign an agreement to change (define) the method of informing. All you need to do is log into your personal account on the UAPF website or mobile app. Let's explain how to do this: After authorization, when entering your personal account on the UAPF website and mobile application, the system automatically checks whether the contributor (beneficiary) has active methods of informing “via postal services” and (or) “via email.” If there are the above methods of information or one of them, the contributor will receive the following message: “In connection with providing you with access to receive information about the state of pension savings through the personal account of UAPF JSC (via the website and mobile application), you can refuse distribution of information by UAPF JSC about the state of pension savings using the previously chosen method(s) of information “by post” and (or) “by e-mail”. If he agrees, the contributor is given the opportunity to confirm the refusal via an SMS code, which is sent to a mobile phone number available in the UAPF database. If the phone number in the UAPF database is out of date, it is possible to specify another mobile phone number to receive an SMS code, which will be saved in the UAPF information system. If outdated methods of informing are abandoned, the contributor has the opportunity to check and control his pension savings in his personal account. At the same time, the contributor (beneficiary) can apply for an extract from the IPSA directly to the UAPF offices or continue to receive an extract by email in accordance with the selected schedule, as well as through postal services (once a year), if this method of notification was chosen earlier. In accordance with the provisions of the law, contributors are required to notify the UAPF of all changes affecting the fulfillment of UAPF obligations ( including email address, telephone number, residential address, bank details ) within ten calendar days from the date of such changes. The ability to notify about changes is available both through your personal account on the UAPF Internet resources, and by contacting the UAPF office.

In accordance with paragraph 8 of article 44-1 of the Land code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (hereinafter, the Code) - "when requesting land plots for individual housing construction, applications (petitions) of citizens are taken into special account and are satisfied as sites are prepared for allotment or if there are free territories used for individual housing construction. Rules for granting land plots for individual housing construction to citizens are approved by the Central authorized body" (approved by the order of the acting Minister of national economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated March 27, 2015 No. 255).

In accordance with article 48 of the Land Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the provision of land plots or the right to lease land plots that are in state ownership and not provided for land use is carried out at auctions (contests, auctions). The list of land plots to be auctioned and the rules of participation can be found on the ozo-karaganda website.kz in the "information stand" section.

According to the law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "About state regulation of development of agroindustrial complex and rural territories" (further – the Law) subsidies is the financing of specific recipients of subsidies for gratuitous and irrevocable basis by the local Executive body of area at the expense of budgetary funds. On the basis of article 6 of the Law, the order of the Minister of agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan approved the rules for subsidizing and standards of public services (hereinafter-standards), which determine the procedure for subsidizing. To receive subsidies, you must use the e-government web portal www.egov.kz electronically submit the application and documents provided for in paragraph 9 of the standards in compliance with the requirements of the subsidy Rules. The Department of agriculture of the local Executive body of the region will consider this application in accordance with the rules of subsidies, which will result in a notification of the transfer of subsidies or a reasoned refusal to grant subsidies in cases and on the grounds provided for in paragraph 10 of the standards.