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Actor Steven Seagal may be eligible for $80 monthly pension as Russian citizen

The Hollywood star has been granted Russian citizenship

MOSCOW, November 3. /TASS/. Hollywood movie star and martial artist Steven Seagal, who was granted Russian citizenship, may count on a pension worth about 5,000 rubles (or roughly $80), a representative with Russia’s Pension Fund told TASS.

"He has the right to receive a retirement pension but only when he reaches the age of 65 and only if he has a registered place of residence in Russia. The minimum pension is about 5,000 rubles. But he will also receive an additional payment to meet the minimum pensioner’s living standard of the region where he is registered," an official said.

If the actor resides more in the US than in Russia that he won’t be able to receive this pension after turning 65, the official added.

The official said that the Pension Fund will check if Seagal is legally entitled to an insurance old-age pension under Russian legislation.

"We will check up on whether he made contributions (to the Pension Fund) and if he has a seven-year job record in Russia. In this case, the fund would grant him an insurance old-age pension," the official said.

Earlier on Thursday, it was reported that President Vladimir Putin had signed a decree to grant Russian citizenship to the Hollywood actor.

Seagal mentioned the possibility of obtaining a Russian passport during his visit to a film festival on the Far Eastern island of Sakhalin in September.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the actor was persistently seeking Russian citizenship and "is really known for his warm feelings towards Russia."

"He has never hidden it," Peskov said. "He is also a rather famous actor, which does establish grounds to grant him Russian citizenship."

Steven Seagal was born in 1952 in Michigan, the US. He has so far starred in more than 120 movies most of which are martial arts action films. His most popular movies include: Above the Law, Hard To Kill, Under Siege, On Deadly Ground, The Glimmer Man, Exit Wounds. Seagal’s partners on film set were Tommy Lee Jones, Michael Caine, Woopi Goldberg, Danny Trejo and others.

The actor has been frequently visiting Russia as of late. This September, Seagal traveled to the island of Sakhalin in Russia’s Far East where he visited a film festival. During that trip, the Hollywood star also went bear-watching in the Kronotsky Nature Reserve in the Kamchatka Peninsula.