Peskov: Putin not involved in pension reform discussion

MOSCOW, Jun 15 (PRIME) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin is not involved in the development of the pension reform, this is the government’s responsibility, president’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

“The pension reform is developed by the government. The president does not take part in the discussion. You know what will happen next: exchange of opinions, expert discussions, expert development of the issue… Let us wait for the final framework of the reform,” he said.

Peskov also said that Putin’s assertion made in 2005 that the retirement age would never be raised while he is the president took place long ago.

“You are talking about 2005. It is important to remember that it was 13 years ago,” he said and added that serious changes have happened since then including demographic and life expectancy changes.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that the government wants to raise the retirement age to 63 for women and 65 for men gradually starting from 2019.

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