At the session
MINSK, 10 March (BelTA) – Three scenarios of raising the pension age were submitted to Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko for consideration at the session to discuss the development of the pension system. The statement was made by Labor and Social Security Minister Marianna Shchetkina after the session on 10 March, BelTA informs.
According to the minister, the economic side of these scenarios was considered with the participation of scientists.
In accordance with the first scenario, women are supposed to retire at the age of 60, men at the age of 65. Marianna Shchetkina remarked that this is the most economically feasible scenario. However, she stressed that it is essential not only to take into account the experience of other countries but also such aspects as life expectancy, the state of health, and the specifics of life in urban and rural areas.
“Therefore, having analyzed the demographic processes, we came up with a scenario to raise the pension age to 60 years for women and 63 years for men. First of all, we took into consideration the fact that the average life expectancy for women is 78.4 years, so they receive pensions for more than 20 years after retirement,” the minister noted. “It has been said recently that the gender equality should be taken into account when solving the pension age issue.”
“But a question arises: whether we will be able to neglect the social aspect and the burden on women. Should there be any difference in the age of retirement for men and women? To what extent are women burdened with household chores? Have we already reached that level of the gender equality?” Marianna Shchetkina continued.
Having these issues in mind, experts suggest raising the pension age to 58 years for women and 63 years for men.
As for the pace of raising the pension age, it seems that the most optimal way will be to increase it gradually by six months. “We have already wasted a chance to increase it by one month or three months. If we want to retain stability in the country, we will have to increase the pension age by six months at a time at least. However, there are proposals to increase it by eight months or even one year at a time. But one year is a very dramatic increase,” the minister said.
She also stressed that it is needed to keep an eye on the development of the labor market. “If we keep pensioners in employment, we need to create new jobs because there are university graduates and young people who should have a guaranteed job assignment,” the minister stressed.
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