Ukraine to raise pensions for military

"We will make changes to the pension system for 550,000 military pensioners; we propose to lay down the system of automatic indexation of pensions. Combat pensions should be higher than the ordinary pensions of military servicemen," he said during a government meeting.

According to Groysman, military pensions will be increased by at least UAH 1,500.

"We've spent a lot of time developing a pension system for servicemen. Today we will submit these proposals to the National Security and Defense Council since this is an issue of the military, where we will find the final decision that can be approved by the Ukrainian parliament," the prime minister said.

Read alsoIMF explains why it has concerns about Ukraine pension reformAs UNIAN reported earlier, the Verkhovna Rada on October 3 passed bill No. 6614 "On Amending Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding Increasing Pensions." Some 288 lawmakers voted for its adoption with the required minimum being 226 votes.

Read alsoUkraine's Pension Fund budget to grow by 25% in 2018 – social policy ministerOn October 6, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko enacted the bill into law, which was published in the official newspaper of the Verkhovna Rada "Holos Ukrainy" on October 10. The law came into force from the day after the publication, that is, from October 11.

The government promised that immediately after the adoption of the pension reform, it would begin developing a separate draft law on pension provision for military servicemen. It was noted that the project would be submitted to the Verkhovna Rada by November 1.