The paper discusses the content and significance of the constitutional regulation of the state pension provision in the context of changing the retirement age. The author summarizes the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the European Court of Human Rights and proposes a system of constitutional standards for pension reform based on the principle of a social state. The issues of gender differentiation of the retirement age, the economic feasibility of a pension are considered. The author analyzes the importance of the pension reform for the principles of legal certainty of legislative policy and the stability of the legal status of a citizen. A description of the public discussion about a possibility of raising the retirement age is given, the main socio-economic conditions affecting the pension system are indicated. The author concludes: changing the conditions of pensions is possible while maintaining citizens’ confidence in the law and actions of the state, which requires maintaining the reasonable stability of legal regulation and increasing the welfare of citizens, as well as establishing a reasonable period of adaptation.