Medvedev says govt strives to respect all interests in pension law

GORKI, Moscow Region, Jun 26 (PRIME) -- Russia’s government strives to respect interests of employees, employers and the state in designing an amended pension law, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday.

“We are making every effort to accommodate interests of everybody participating in the pension relations, including, of course, employees, and employers, and the state as a whole,” he said.

Medvedev also said that the adjustments are based on rising life expectancy and the possibility to continue working at a mature age. He also said that the ratio of working to retired people has halved since the 1970s posing an imbalance in the society.

The government wants to raise the retirement age to 63 for women and 65 for men gradually starting from 2019.

The prime minister said that it is important not to lose professionals and ensure jobs for the seniors.

“It is very important for us not to lose a single professional and make every effort to avoid seniors’ problems in finding a job. I want to emphasize again that age should not be a reason for dismissing. Age discrimination in labor relations is prohibited by the law of this country,” he said.

Medvedev also said that some mature people will have to get additional education as digital technologies develop fast.

“Some professions disappear while new professions appear. We need to organize relearning programs which allow people to get familiar with popular specialties,” he said and added that business will have to participate in the program actively.

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