The article presents the study on the problems of imbalances in the
Russian pension system, which prevent ensuring the provision of decent
pensions for the population at a level that is adequate to their
labor contribution. In this study, the authors set a goal of substantiating
proposals for building a balanced pension system in Russia.
They considered the possibility of increasing the number of workers
(contributors to the pension system) by legalizing the informal employment
as a reserve for increasing the receipts of insurance contributions
to the pension system. In performing of the study was tested
the working hypothesis, which is: to ensure a balanced pension
system in Russia and raise the pensions, such reserve of increasing
the number of contributors as the legalization of informal employment
is sufficient. The article set and addressed the optimization
problem of legalizing the informal sector of the Russian economy
within the existing unfunded pension system in case of raising the
pensions to 40% of lost earnings. The authors built a non-linear programming
optimization problem based on the balance equation of
unfunded pension system. They presented a number of test estimates
and conclusions drawn on their basis. First, to ensure a balanced
pension system in Russia and raise the pensions, such reserve
for increasing the number of contributors as the legalization of informal
employment is significant but not sufficient. Secondly, a 40%
wage replacement rate can be achieved only in case of virtually
complete legalization of population employment in the informal sector.
Thirdly, the authors identified the particular characteristics of informal
employment legalization in specific economic activities
