Photo from UNIAN
Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman says the government will seek an increase in pensions for nine million retirees and automatic review of pension benefits in line with inflation and average wages, as well as plans to make pensions exempt from taxes and keep the retirement age at 60 as part of the pension reform that will pass its second reading in parliament this fall.
"The government has several basic principles, which it will stick to under any circumstances. The reform will be conducted without raising the retirement age. We will raise pensions for nine million pensioners as early as October and cancel the unfair tax on pensions for working pensioners. In future, they will be reviewed automatically. A pension is not buckwheat [used by some politicians during elections to 'bribe' voters, mainly pensioners, with food parcels, containing buckwheat], and the government will not allow politicians to resort to manipulation ... We will defend these principles, and I hope they will remain unchanged," Groysman wrote on Facebook.
Read alsoUkraine's minimum pension to reach $50 – GroysmanAt the same time, the prime minister stressed that the Cabinet of Ministers is ready to finalize other issues of the reform together with all interested parties.
"We will establish fair and absolutely transparent equal retirement conditions for all. We will eliminate the Pension Fund deficit to ensure further growth of retirement benefits. We have launched the pension reform to restore social justice for the elderly and ensure a happy retirement for the youth of today," Groysman added.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a draft law on pension reform in the first reading on July 13.
The government's draft pension reform does not provide for raising the retirement age, at the same time it introduces requirements for the minimum pension insurance record. So, a person will need to have at least 25 years of pensionable service to retire at age 60, whereas retirement at 63 will be possible with the pension insurance record from 15 to 25 years, and at 65 if it is less than 15 years. At the same time, people without the pension insurance record will be eligible to apply for social assistance when they reach 63. The size of assistance will be determined based on the income level of the pensioner's family.
The minimum pension insurance record will be extended by one year every 12 months until 2028. Thus, starting from 2028, a person needs to have 35 years of pensionable service to retire at 60. At the same time, the government version of the pension reform provides for the possibility of "buying" up to two years of the pensionable service. The reform also abolishes special long-service pensions paid to state officials, introducing a single formula for calculating the amount of pensions.