MINSK, 4 January (BelTA) – The age of retirement in Belarus will not be raised in 2016, BelTA learned from Larisa Yashkova, Deputy Head of the Central Office for Pension Provision of the Belarusian Labor and Social Protection Ministry, on 4 January.
“It is too early to speculate that the decision [to raise the retirement age] will definitely be made in 2016,” said Larisa Yashkova. Yet the official noted that the matter will be reviewed in time.
The official underlined that the matter of raising the age of retirement has been hotly debated in the last few years. In her words, in the ex-USSR there are three countries with an early retirement age. Men retire at 60 and women retire at 55 years of age in Belarus, Russia, and Uzbekistan. It is a legacy of the Soviet Union. “Yet a lot has changed since then. Life expectancy has increased and continues increasing. Nowadays the retirement age is not the age when people are unfit for work,” noted Larisa Yashkova. In her words, as many as 25% of the retirees in Belarus continue working. “The labor market changes in response to the demographic situation. As much as 27% of Belarus' population is pensioners. By 2020 the figure is expected to grow to 29%,” said the Deputy Head of the Central Office for Pension Provision of the Belarusian Labor and Social Protection Ministry.
Social security service agencies take care of over 2.5 million people. Over 80% of the number are old-age pensioners.
