Yanukovych, Azarov discuss pension reform

The draft law on pension reform is not ready for consideration of the Parliament, President Viktor Yanukovych said at his meeting with Prime Minister Mykola Azarov. 

"I have initiated cancelling consideration of the law on pension reform this week," he said, presidential press office reported. 

Providing arguments on the step, the President stressed that "the bill is not ready to be voted.” 

"I get lots of emails daily from NGOs, citizens of Ukraine, which indicate that people are not familiar with the provisions of this law... They actually do not know anything about the pension reform," Viktor Yanukovych said. 

He stressed that before consideration of the bill on pension reform in the Parliament, it is necessary to conduct an extensive explanatory work among the citizens. "Before it (the bill) is considered in the Parliament, it is essential to make sure that the people understand it," Viktor Yanukovych stressed. 

In this regard, Viktor Yanukovych has instructed Mykola Azarov to improve public discussion of the pension reform. "Additionally, it is necessary to hold public hearings in the regions,” he said, “I know that Vice Prime Minister Tigipko has done a good job in this direction, and not only he. But this is not enough." 

Viktor Yanukovych noted that the pension reform is a very serious step, so the country's leadership should treat it responsibly. He said the reform is primarily aimed at "increasing pensions to those pensioners, who now cannot live on such small pensions.” 

He also stressed that under the provisions of the bill the maximum pension will be reduced significantly. "We greatly reduce the upper limit, which has already reached 60 thousand UAH. This limit shall not exceed ten times the minimum pension," Viktor Yanukovych said. 

The President believes that through the reform, wages will be brought out of shadows, thus enabling raising pensions. "Through the pension reform we will legalize salaries, and people who retire will get higher pensions. They will be much higher than the meager wages they receive in envelopes," the President summed up.