Parliament hands President Yanukovych IMF-mandated pension reform for signature

Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn said yesterday that he signed the IMF-mandated pension reform package and sent it to President Viktor Yanukovych for signature. Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, amended the pension legislation at its first fall session on Tuesday. Though the Rada approved pension reform before its summer recess back on July 8, the legislation has been in limbo due to technical inconsistencies unnoticed until later. In addition to raising gas tariffs for households, the pension reform is one of the International Monetary Fund’s key demands before renewing Ukraine’s USD 16 bln loan program. Brad Wells: Last month, Ukraine reportedly asked for an IMF mission visit to review its program to be postponed until October to give it more time to implement necessary reforms. Swift action on the pension piece is a positive development, but so far the government has been reluctant to budge on unpopular gas tariff increases.