MOSCOW, June 27 (Itar-Tass) — Russia has reserves not to raise the retirement age, Labour and Social Protection Minister Maxim Topilin said in an interview with the Rossiiskaya Gazeta newspaper on Wednesday.
Order must be established on the labour market – at first to bring illegal workers out of the shadow and oblige nurses and housemaids to take licenses for work, he noted.
There are no demographic conditions to raise the retirement age in Russia. The average life expectancy is lower than in Europe, the United States and Japan, while some suggest nearly equalizing the age with them.
Yes, the life expectancy is rising, and it is already higher than 70, but men are still far behind women. Many pensioners continue to work. It is good for people and economy. Perhaps, people in the future will themselves make a choice – to continue to work or retire. But at present, the pension rights of people must be realized, the minister said.
Over the five years of the implementation of the demographic programme in Russia, the birth rate increased by 21.2 percent, and the death rate decreased by 11.2 percent. However, the growth gradually slows down, while the death rate is worse than in developing countries. Besides, the unfavourable demographic trends of the 1990s have an effect on the present situation – the number of women of active reproductive age has decreased, while the number of elderly people is increasing.
At the second stage of the demographic conception implementation (2011-2015), the federal "maternity capital" programme remains in force, but the main work is on the regional level. It is regional maternity capital and free land plots for families, including for house construction. In addition, monthly payments will be introduced beginning 2013 for a third and next children until they are aged three – about 7,000 rbls a month for a child, the minister said.