Kudrin: Lack of social reform may cost Russia 1% of GDP by ‘20

MOSCOW, Jan 13 (PRIME) -- Russia must reform the social support system, or budget will lose an equivalent of 1% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in four years, former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said Wednesday.

“If we do nothing now, then in accordance with the Finance Ministry’s data, we will have to raise the pension system support by 1% in five–seven years at the expense of the budget system… I think that the trends are such that if we do not raise the retirement age, if we do not solve other restructuring issues, we will have to raise GDP by 1% in four years because of budget support to the pension system,” Kudrin said.

The government earlier planned to consider raising the retirement age from the current of 55 years for women and 60 for men until 2018.

End