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RUSSIA-POLITICS-PENSION LEAD
Putin softens controversial pension reforms
MOSCOW, Aug 29, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on
Wednesday proposed a series of measures to soften a deeply unpopular pension
reform, in an apparent attempt to stem a major fall in his approval ratings.
In a rare televised address, Putin suggested raising the state pension age
by five years to 60 years for women, instead of the earlier proposed eight-
year hike to 63, among other measures.
“The treatment of women in our country is special, gentle,” Putin said in
the 30-minute speech.
The proposed retirement age hike for men — by five years to 65 — will
remain unchanged.
The Russian leader, who is 65, also suggested early retirement for mothers
with large families.
And he said companies that fire or refuse to hire employees because they
are nearing pension age should face administrative or criminal liability.
The proposed reform — already approved by parliament’s lower house in a
first reading last month — has led to a rare of outburst of public anger,
with tens of thousands rallying across Russia in recent weeks.
Putin had sought to distance himself from the controversial measures and
had been widely expected to soften the proposals to buttress his falling
approval ratings.
– Approval ratings low –
At the same time Putin reiterated Wednesday that tough measures were
needed, citing “serious demographic problems” stemming from the country’s
huge losses during World War II and the fallout from the collapse of the
Soviet Union in 1991.
“We will have to make a hard, difficult but necessary decision,” Putin
said, adding his proposals would soon be sent to the Russian parliament’s
lower house, the State Duma.
“I ask you to treat this with understanding,” he said.
The state pension age in Russia is among the lowest in the world and the
proposed reform will be the first such hike in nearly 90 years.
But given Russians’ low life expectancy, many will not live long enough
under the proposed system to receive a state pension.
However, the government says the burden is simply too great for its
stretched finances as the economy struggles under Western sanctions.
Putin, who had previously vowed not to raise the pension age, has seen
public trust in his presidency fall to 64 percent last month, down from 80
percent in May, according to VTsIOM state pollster.
The last time his approval ratings were so low was in January 2014, just
months before his popularity skyrocketed following the annexation of Crimea
from Ukraine.
Ahead of the televised address, a Moscow court jailed Putin’s top critic
Alexei Navalny for 30 days on Monday, just days before he planned to stage a
rally against the reform.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1636 hrs