Reuters named options for mitigating pension reform discussed by the authorities

The Russian authorities are discussing the possibility of raising the retirement age for women not by 8, but by 5 years, and may also introduce the concept of “pre-retirement age,” Reuters writes , citing two federal officials and two sources familiar with the discussion.

Details

Quote: “There are all sorts of suggestions. [The retirement age for] women should be increased by five years, not eight, and the concept of “pre-retirement age” should be introduced. I hope they leave everything as it is. We already have an imbalance [of the Pension Fund budget]," one of the officials said.

• “The fact that in the process [discussion] will somehow be softened, that’s for sure,” said the second official. According to another source, "it is obvious that the president has to give something," and now the authorities are discussing how exactly the reform will be relaxed.
• A Reuters source close to the presidential administration called the increase in the retirement age "a purely political decision" and said the answer to the question of the need to make concessions will appear when the political situation before the fall elections becomes clear .
• “The plan is this: the government announces a tough option, the population revolts, Putin is a good one, he will lower this bar by half or even stretch it over the years,” another source close to the government said.
• “The government has made its own proposal. So far, it is the working option that is being considered," Dmitry Medvedev's press secretary, Natalya Timakova, told the agency.

Context

• The current parameters of the pension reform involve raising the retirement age for women from 55 to 63 and for men from 60 to 65. The transitional period is provided until 2028 for men and until 2034 for women.
• Approval ratings for the work of Vladimir Putin and the government fell sharply after the announcement of the reform. The latest VTsIOM data, however, recorded the stabilization of the ratings.
• The Kremlin is trying to distance itself from the reform: Dmitry Peskov emphasized that Vladimir Putin is not involved in the discussion of the bill. We talked about the reform in detail here and here .
• in Russia In early July, protests were held against raising the retirement age.
• In United Russia, as wrote Kommersant , it was forbidden to publicly support the pension reform, the party leadership also prepared arguments for the regions about the benefits of the reform.

Artem Gubenko