Russia's pension reform

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Europe

Lawmakers in Russia are voting on a pension bill that will raise the retirement age, despite protests around the country and a drop in President Vladimir Putin's popularity ratings.

Men and women in Russia will have to wait an extra five years before they can retire if a bill to change the pension age is passed into law.

It would see men able to claim their pension payments at 65, just a year beyond the average life expectancy, and women at 60. The changes will be brought in gradually over the next fifteen years.

Lawmakers in the lower house of Parliament, called the State Duma, voted for the bill last week, while the upper house, known as the Federation Council, will vote on the bill on Wednesday.

Supporters of left-wing political parties and movements hold placards depicting Russian Federation Council speaker Valentina Matviyenko, President Vladimir Putin and Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina during a rally against the pension reform in Moscow, September 22, 2018. /VCG Photo

The Government says the change is needed because people are living longer, and President Vladimir Putin said it was "impossible to delay."

He said: "That would be irresponsible and can lead to grave consequences for the economy and social sphere, and negatively affect the lives of millions of people, because – and now it is already clear – the state will have to do it anyway, sooner or later. But the later we do it, the harsher those decisions would be."

However, the move has been unpopular, even affecting President Putin's own ratings, which fell by 13 percent after the change was announced.

People take part in an unauthorized rally against Russian pension reform in Pushkinskaya Square, Moscow. /VCG Photo

A national poll carried out in mid-September suggested that almost 90 percent of people opposed the reforms.

"Big dissatisfaction, big criticism," said Denis Volkov, a researcher at the Levada Center, which carried out the survey.

"People, first of all, think that it's unfair, as it's not the bureaucrats who will pay, it's not the oligarchs who will pay, just ordinary people."

"What the Government needs to deliver is economic growth in general. That is what people want, and the people are losing hope that the Government is able to deliver this."

The reform has been bruising for President Vladimir Putin and the ruling United Russia party, but they say that it will ensure sustainable pensions and help to balance the economy.

(Top image: Russian parliament speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, right, his deputies Sergei Neverov and Alexander Zhukov, attend a session during a vote on the pension reform bill at the State Duma in Moscow, September 26, 2018. /VCG Photo)