Did people have retirement accounts they could contribute to, or pensions? Could people invest their savings? Were they allowed to have savings? Could they get a line of credit?
Did people have retirement accounts they could contribute to, or pensions?
State pension system developed in two stages: first from 1917 to 1956 and second from 1956 until 1991. In the first period pensions were only for workers of some industries, but there were no universal law guaranteeing retirement. In the second period the system became more or less universal for workers and since 1964 for kolkhoz workers also.
State pensions depended on several factors:
Person's age and gender: 60 for men and 55 for women
Length of service: 25 years for men and 20 years for women
Special working conditions: chemical industry, miners, teachers, military, work in polar regions and so on.
Average salary in the past five years before retirement.
Such data was accounted in personal documents, so called "labourer's books" - "трудовая книжка".
Could people invest their savings?
There were numerous state bonds, sometimes with an element of lottery: from pan-Soviet issues to local, issued to build something particular. They were not really profitable since payments were cancelled or delayed and there were no mechanisms to argue about conditions with the state. Sometimes bonds were given involuntarily, instead of salary. In the late USSR there were other means of investment like "cooperative" apartments, garages and mansions.
Were they allowed to have savings?
Yes they were. However, there were two major currency exchanges: in 1947 and in 1961 and both were aimed at personal savings.
Could they get a line of credit?
Yes and in the late USSR conditions were very mild: from 2% for consumer goods to 8% for loans without specified goals. There was an option to subtract payments from the salary to reduce communication with banks and problems with budget planning.
Also there were "mutual help funds" for members of a professional unity in particular organisations. Members were able to take a part of the sum from the collective account and then give it back. Sometimes it worked in one side as in case of funerals.