MOSCOW, April 14. /TASS/. The issue of increasing the retirement age should be thoroughly examined and subjected to the public discussion, Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, commenting on the statement of Finance Minister Anton Siluanov on that topic.

"The President reiterated this issue requires very thorough examination. This issue should be worked out in the government and undergo the public discussion, and only thereafter the position can be formulated," the press secretary said.

The sooner the issue with the pension age rise is resolved, the "better it will be for the economy and the budget," Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said earlier. "Different concepts are discussed,’ he added. "The first one is not to hurry up and examine this issue after 2018. However, we will lose time and will have to cut other expenses. Another concept is to implement the idea of increasing the retirement age in 2017-2018 or even earlier, since 2016," the minister said. International experts recommend Russia raises the retirement age to 65 for men and women [currently 55 for women and 60 for men — TASS], the minister said.