State Duma deputies approved a pension reform bill in its third (and final) reading. The bill suggests raising retirement age to 60 (for women) and 65 (for men), RIAN reports.
The draft law was supported by 333 deputies (compared to 332 in the second reading) while 62 deputies voted against it (21 deputies less than before). The reform opponents include deputies from the opposition parties (Communist Party, Liberal Democratic Party, and A Just Russia party). With the amendments introduced by the President and the United Russia Party, the bill envisages a possibility of an early retirement for mothers of many children, a criminal liability for firing employees approaching retirement age, and preserving social benefits for aged people (that will be the responsibility of the regional authorities).
The Council of the Federation (upper house of parliament) will review the bill on October 3.
“The legislation will start influencing people’s lives within months. Not a single person will retire in 2019. Its utmost effect will be felt by men currently under 55 and women under 50, since their retirement will all of a sudden be delayed by five years”, Nikolai Yepikhin, expert on taxation matters and CEO of Uproshchenka tax focused Internet platform, says. “That will have a bad impact on the younger people as well, since their (now unretired) parents will – at the very least – be unable to help them out with their babies. Additionally, every family will get less money overall. The negative impact of the reform will keep accumulating in the years to come”.