The MPs from UKROP have filed more than 20 amendments to the so-called pension reform (the draft law № 6614), which was adopted by the Parliament in the first reading.
In particular, the party representatives insist on exclusion from the governmental draft law of all the norms concerning actual hidden rise of retirement age due to increase of the pension insurance period to 35 years for men and 30 years – for women and a prohibition to retire until the age of 65 years in case of insufficient pensionable service.
Besides, the MPs propose to leave the level of assessment for one year of insurance period at the rate of 1.35% rather than 1% as it is currently proposed by the government.
“It will give the opportunity not to allow reduction in pensions for a significant number of pensioners, since the government’s proposition to increase payments only by raising the average wage may lead to reduction in pensions if the average wage remains unchanged or reduced,” stresses the UKROP.
In addition, the party representatives consider it necessary to keep indexation of pension payments and to recalculate them annually to 100% growth of average wages in comparison with the previous year and 50% of the inflation rate. At the same time, the governmental bill stipulates a 50% increase in the average salary and 50% of increase in consumer prices, and the indexation of prices is excluded from the state legislative field.
Another block of amendments concerns pension maintenance of women and the military. Thus, the MPs propose to give the right to apply for a pension by age to women, who have at least 30 years of insurance experience regardless of age. Women who have given birth to three or more children should have a right to an early retirement after reaching the age of 55 years, and if they have at least 20 years of insurance experience, considers UKROP. And pension payments to those Ukrainians who have exercised the right to voluntarily and forced early retirement by age after they are 55 years old, during the so-called pension reform in 2011, if the insurance period is at least 30 years and in case of dismissal, from January 1, 2018, it is proposed to establish a living wage for persons who have lost their working capacity. At the same time, their pensions should increase along with the subsistence minimum. Now this category of pensioners receives less than one thousand hryvnias.
As for the military, the UKROP representatives propose to restore social justice, in particular, for those citizens of Ukraine who served during mobilization from April 14, 2014 to December 31, 2016, and who have got zero monetary provision during this period in the certificate necessary for pension accounting. If the social due fee was not paid from their incomes at that time, it should be covered by the state budget, the MPs are convinced.
Also, the representatives of the “Ukrainian Association of Patriots” propose to exclude from the bill the norm stating that after liberation of ORDLO, the elderly residents of these territories should receive pensions from Ukraine for the whole period of occupation.
“This is a populist norm. Current officials, apparently, expect that they will not have to implement it, because at that time they will no longer be in power. In fact, these payments should be made at the expense of the aggressor country,” emphasize the UKROP representatives. In addition, the deputies insist on maintaining the current mechanism of preferential pensions for scientists and academic researchers.
These proposals to the draft law “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Pensions” were signed by the MPs Taras Batenko, Iryna Konstankevych, Oleksandr Dubinin, Vitaliy Kupriy, Oleksandr Shevchenko, Valentyn Didych and Viktor Shevchenko, and submitted to Lyudmyla Denisova, Chairman of the Committee on Social Policy, Employment and Pension Provision.
