Should pension age be increased? Candidates’ opinions

Euroradio keeps asking the presidential candidates about topical issues.

Alyaksandr Lukashenka, President, 61 years old

"My opinion is known: if people do not want to increase the pension age, we tell them the sum collected by the pension fund and we divide it among all pensioners... There is no need to discuss it now... People know the situation and there is no need to harp on this issue.”

Mikalai Ulahovich, builder, 63 years old

“The pension age should be increased by 3 years. I have to say it although candidates are supposed to speak only about pleasant things. I do not think that we need equality in pensions either. Men should retire at 63 and women – at 58. There are 2.5 million pensioners in Belarus and not all of them refuse to work”.

Syarhei Haidukevich, party leader, 61 years old

“It is too early  to do it now. We need a pension reform first, there should be personal pensions. We need state pension funds instead of private ones. The pension age cannot be increased without these things.”

Tatstsyana Karatkevich, 38 years old

“I do not think that the pension age should be increased anytime soon. We need to reach a demographic balance of men’s and women’s life expectancy first. And we need to increase Belarusians’ mean lifetime too.”