Proekt publication: Putin to announce easing of pension reform on August 28

On August 28, President Vladimir Putin will announce a softening of the pension reform, the publication "Proekt" reports , citing sources in the Kremlin, the White House and the State Duma. However, no one knows what exactly the president will announce.

Details

• The president's statement is a "terrible secret" and should come as a surprise to Russians, one of the sources told the publication. Even most officials do not know what specific amendments will be made to the bill. The sources told the publication only about possible options for softening the reform that the country's leadership has recently discussed.

  • The most serious option would lower the retirement age for women from 63 to 60 years, and special conditions for mothers with many children are possible, a source in the government said. The president is ready to agree to this option. Then the bill would look fairer - the retirement age would be raised by five years for both men and women (the current version of the bill provides for an increase of five years for men and eight for women).
  • The transition period may be extended. Currently, the plan is to raise the retirement age for men until 2028 and for women until 2034.
  • The President may also propose maintaining the current age threshold (55/60 years) for receiving pension benefits (United Russia has already put forward a similar idea).

• *The government is not discussing softening the reform; introducing amendments for the second reading is a matter for the State Duma, the Federation Council, and the Presidential Administration, says a source in the government apparatus for The Bell. Another source confirms that there were no meetings in the government on this matter. Yet another says, * that the president's intervention, if it was expected, would have been at the last moment - that is, not before the second reading.

• "Proekt", citing sources, writes that Putin's statement on the reform was initially planned for the fall, "but public tension forced the schedule to be adjusted." According to the publication, Putin may speak on this issue on August 28 during his trip to the Novosibirsk and Omsk regions.

Context

• Earlier, Vedomosti wrote that Vladimir Putin would speak out several more times on the topic of pension reform at various venues before the second reading of the bill (which will take place no earlier than the end of September) and would explain his position to the population in more detail. Initially, Vladimir Putin distanced himself from the pension reform, placing all responsibility on the government. The president commented on it for the first time only at the end of July in Kaliningrad (the bill was announced on June 14). "Which of the various options do I like? <…> None. I don't like any of the ones related to raising the age," the president said then.
• On August 21, the State Duma held its first parliamentary hearings on pension reform. Nothing new was said in the 4.5 hours of speeches. The only outcome of the hearings was the decision to create a working group.
• The pension reform bill has already passed its first reading, the second is scheduled for autumn. United Russia has published a list of amendments to the document, which suggest maintaining benefits and subsidies at the level of the old retirement age.
• According to the Levada Center, 89% of Russians do not support the reform. After the government publicly announced the reform, several protests took place in Russia, and one of the largest all-Russian rallies was organized by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. Alexei Navalny announced a new all-Russian protest rally on the single voting day.
• The pension reform has brought down the ratings of the government in general and Vladimir Putin in particular. At the end of July, the president's trust rating dropped to its lowest since the protests on Bolotnaya Square.

If Putin and, as he said, "most people in the government" do not like the reform, then how was the fundamental decision about it made? And who will make the final decision (since there is none yet)? Two sources in the government

Liana Faizova