17 June 2011, 16:04
The Law on Pension Reform shall be fair and meet the public expectations.
Volodymyr Lytvyn, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, made the foregoing statement in the interview to Rada television channel.
He stressed that deputies shall be responsible for this issue, "prepare the proposals on adoption of the bill in the first reading, and draft a fair act to meet the public expectations and prevent economical downturn."
V. Lytvyn deems necessary to implement the pension reform. The Head of the Parliament explained that the Pension Fund "is actually bankrupt", since there are 14 million of unemployed in Ukraine and 13 million 800 thousand of pensioners. "Under such circumstances, pensions cannot be increased. Thus, the situation shall change, the rate of the minimum pension being fixed." Then, according to the Head of the Parliament, economic measures could be taken to achieve the necessary pension rate, and seek reserves and means to refill the Pension Fund.
Discussing the crucial aspects of the reform, such as the increase of retirement age, V. Lytvyn admitted that it is an unavoidable step. However, he deems necessary to develop a motivation system for the people who continue working upon reaching the retirement age.
Moreover, The Head of the Parliament stated that Ukraine aims at the European structure, while the EU countries also faced increase of the retirement age.
Volodymyr Lytvyn agrees to the idea of restricting 'enormous pensions.' However, he believes that this issue needs an individual approach.
In general, V. Lytvyn is convinced that the pension reform shall be thoroughly prepared and analyzed. It requires a systemic approach with consideration of all the social aspects, especially economic reforms.
The Head of the Parliament reminded that two weeks is left for the subjects of the legislative initiative to amend the bill. He stressed that during this period the bill shall be thoroughly finalized and prepared for the scrutiny in the session hall. However, he supposes that disputable items "might be postponed and adopted separately."
V. Lytvyn informed that if the bill is not adopted by the end of the session, the session might be extended. He emphasized that the bill would be scrutinized after its complete finalization. "This issue does not need haste", he added.