Ukrane parliamentary committee submits pension reform for vote

A parliamentary committee submitted pension reform
legislation for parliament’s review after approving 2,144 amendments, Ukrainian
Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said on his Facebook page on Sept. 6. Among
these amendments is the introduction of the option of private pension savings
accounts as of January 2019. The legislation is in its second reading after it
was first approved in July.

Zenon Zawada: We expect a
parliamentary vote to approve the second reading of the pension reform package
– the key requirement for the next IMF loan tranche – will occur in time for
the mission’s arrival to Ukraine next week. So far, it is hard to say whether
MPs will approve the proposed compulsory contributions to private pension
funds. The IMF does not like this idea, as it will lead to the widening of the
state pension fund deficit (and the state budget as well).