Ukraine parliament approves heavily amended pension reform
The Ukrainian parliament approved pension reforms on Tuesday aimed at easing pressure from a pensions deficit of more than $5 billion while also raising the minimum pension. Passing laws to put the buckling pension system on a sustainable footing is a key requirement for the next loan tranche from the International Monetary Fund.
But last week a senior World Bank official said the bank and the IMF were concerned about the hundreds of amendments that have been added to the draft pensions legislation since July, many submitted by populist factions in parliament. The amended bill was backed by 288 lawmakers, comfortably over the 226 required to pass.
“We’re taking a historic decision to establish a fair pension system,” Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said before the vote. It was not immediately clear which of the law’s amendments may conflict with Ukraine’s commitments under its $17.5 billion IMF programme.
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