Russia is embarking on an attempt to modernise its pensions framework. But while it is clear that reforms are needed, both for the viability of the system and the future growth of the Russian securities market, decisions over the way forward are still to be made.
At 55 years for women and 60 years for men, Russia has a low retirement age compared with its international peers. Rising life expectancy makes the need for reform even more urgent. For several years the government has covered substantial deficits in the country’s pension fund through capital injections from the state budget. However, in September 2016, pensioners did not receive their scheduled inflation-indexed pension increase. Instead, prime minister Dmitry Medvedev arranged for a one-off payment of about Rbs5000 ($85) per pensioner in January 2017.
