October 2018

05Oct

Putin’s Russian Retirement Age Hike And U.S. Social Security

Op-Ed by Elizabeth Bauer In the news yesterday:  despite public protests on the matter, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a pension reform bill which increases the retirement age, formerly age 55 for women and 60 for men, to age 60 and 65, respectively. (See Radio Free Europe for coverage.) From an American point of view, one might be surprised that the retirement age was ever this low in the first place, or that retirement ages were and still remain different for men...

October 5, 2018
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September 2018

27Sep

Russian parliament approves Vladimir Putin’s controversial pension reform

Russian parliament’s lower house passed a controversial pension reform bill on Wednesday, after President Vladimir Putin announced concessions to try to dampen widespread public anger over plans to raise the state retirement age. The bill, which still has to go through the formality of a third reading and senate hearing, would see Russian men retire at 65 instead of 60 and has sparked rare national protest, with tens of thousands rallying across Russia in recent months. The lower house passed the...

September 27, 2018
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25Sep

Russia. Kremlin loses regional votes amid anger over pension reform

Russia's ruling party suffered two rare defeats in regional elections this weekend as its candidates lost to nationalists amid widespread discontent over a pension reform backed by President Vladimir Putin. A second round of governorship elections was held in two key regions Sunday, after support for the pro-Kremlin United Russia party saw its strongest decline in a decade during the first round on September 9. Vladimir Sipyagin, of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), won 57 percent of the...

September 25, 2018
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24Sep

Russia: 3.000 demonstrators in Moscow against the reform of retirement pensions

Three thousand or so people marched Saturday in Moscow against the unpopular project of the government to increase the age of retirement, which causes a slingshot unusual in Russia. Parade participants on a large avenue in the centre of the Russian capital, waving placards bearing the image of members of the ruling party, United Russia, of which Prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, accompanied by slogans such as “Enemy of the people” or “Shame”. “About 3,000 people have taken part” in the protest,...

September 24, 2018
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11Sep

Russia. Putin Allies Suffer Election Setbacks Amid Pensions Protests

Russian President Vladimir Putin got a taste of public anger at his plans to increase the pension age as voters turned on the ruling party in regional elections and hundreds were arrested at protests against the reform. United Russia’s candidates for governor in four regions, mostly in the country’s east, were forced into runoffs after failing to win majorities in elections Sunday. They trailed Communist and nationalist opponents in two of the races, gaining as little as 32 percent support...

September 11, 2018
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10Sep

150 held over pension protests in Russia

Thousands of supporters of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny have protested across Russia against planned increases to the pension age, with a rights group saying at least 153 of them had been detained by the police. The protests were a challenge to the authorities who were hoping for a high turnout at regional elections, also being held on Sunday, despite widespread anger over the pension move. "The authorities are not listening to people and that means it's time to take to...

September 10, 2018
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06Sep

What are the retirement ages around the world?

Retirement ages, or the age when some sort of government pension can be received, varies around the world. The OECD average for a normal pension age is currently 64.3 years for men and 63.7 years for women. While life expectancy has risen in many countries and governments grapple with ageing populations, any attempts to make people wait longer to collect benefits are usually met with fierce opposition, as Russia and Australia found out recently. Read more sbs

September 6, 2018
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05Sep

Russia. Why Putin’s Pension Plans For Russia Could Put His Own Happy Retirement At Risk

He is a leader who has built his entire political image on being a decisive, strong man of action -- yet, early in his fourth term as Russian president, the passage of time presents Vladimir Putin with challenges he has not previously faced. Firstly, there is a time limit on Mr Putin's own career. The Russian constitution only permits a president to serve two terms. Mr Putin did this between 2000 and 2008, at which point the constitution was interpreted...

September 5, 2018
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August 2018

31Aug

Russia Continue To Explore Blockchain, This Time It’s Pensions

Russia, they are on the fence about cryptocurrencies, but when it comes to blockchain technology, authorities and services over there see blockchain as a favourable innovation. Latest reports from Russia suggest that the Russian State Pension Fund (PFR), a social service within Russia, are set to start working with blockchain technologies in order to make the most of smart contracts, to issue employment contracts between employers and new employees. According to Cointelegraph, this new project plans to: “Introduce smart contracts to...

August 31, 2018
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30Aug

Russia. Putin softens pensions reform after his popularity ratings slip

The Russian president toned down the controversial proposals in a special address to the nation on Wednesday. He said women would be able to retire and claim their pensions at 60 instead of 63, as originally proposed - still a leap from the current age of 55. He also outlined several other concessions on the reform, although the changes to the retirement age for men, which will go from 60 to 65 in the new proposals, were unaltered. In a rare...

August 30, 2018
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