Well-Fed Pensioner’s High Maintenance

The way Lukashenka "fulfills" the promises.

"We will have to lower pensions, as there is not enough money to pay to pensioners," – last year, Aliaksandr Lukashenka gave reasons in favor of increasing the retirement age. The retirement age, in the end, was increased. But pensions are still going down, the Belsat TV channel’s site writes.

Pensioners live worse

In July, the real pensions, that is – taking the inflation into account, decreased in comparison with May, by 0.7%. And for 12 months, despite the periodic indexation, they have decreased by 1%. At the same time, Belarusians are switching to cheaper products. According to Belstat, the consumption of butter and canned meat has fallen by 8%, fruits and juices – by 16%. But the consumption of pasta and cereals has increased.

Authorities claim that the reason for it is demography

They say that less and less Belarusians are born, and they live longer. But independent trade unions refute this. In their opinion, the main reason is the growth of unemployment and the reduction of wages, as a result – the income of the Social Protection Fund is decreasing.

Last year, the Social Protection Fund worked with a deficit, which had to be covered from the budget. This year, according to Minister of Labor Iryna Kastsevich, the fund again requires subventions from the republican budget.

The interviewed experts suggest various ways to increase the effectiveness of the pension system in Belarus – from equalizing the retirement age of men and women to transition from the unfunded pension scheme to contributory superannuation. But on the whole, they agree that it is possible to stabilize the pension system only if the whole economy is reformed.