Russian Deputy PM demands Fin Min reject pension reform

MOSCOW, Apr 29 (PRIME) -- The Russian government is not discussing any new pension schemes, Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets said on Friday and demanded the Finance Ministry reject information that such steps are prepared.

Earlier this week, business daily Kommersant reported that the Finance Ministry and the central bank have completed a draft law making pension savings a quasi-private property but demanding that a 22% payroll tax be entirely spent on the current retirees.

Another daily, Vedomosti, reported that the Finance Ministry wants the retirement age raised, pensions to working people banned, and several other tax and inflation adjustment austerity reforms made.

Golodets said: “We have no documents in the government, nobody is discussing them even privately… Colleagues, we do not have these materials in the government, what the press is discussing these days – no such documents,” Golodets said.

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