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No final decision has been taken so far on the retirement age increase, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday at a meeting with World Cup volunteers.
Video: Putin Has Touched The Third Rail Of Russian Politics – Pension Reform
“When decision of such scale and such sensitivity for people are taken, specific matters and actual professional forecasts should be employed,” Putin said, reported Russian state news agency TASS.
The president adds that he intends to listen “to all opinions and all points of view in this regard” and monitor the discussion that has started recently. If nothing is done for optimization of the pension system or the budget used to finance pension commitments, then “earnings of retirees will also have to be kept at a low level and they will always complement the so-called ‘poor people’,” Putin said. “Instead, we must increase revenues of people so that to reduce the number of the poor,” he added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s approval ratings have survived reports of high-level corruption and falling living standards in recent years, but they are now falling quickly because of a government plan to raise the national retirement age.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced last month that the state pension age would rise gradually beginning next year — from 55 to 63 for women and from 60 to 65 for men. The increase marks the first change to retirement age norms, which Soviet authorities established in the 1930s.
The announcement triggered anger and nationwide protests that appear likely to grow…
To read more visit The Washington Times.
