MOSCOW, September 2. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin worked on his address concerning the pension reform by himself, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated in an interview with the Rossiya-1 TV channel on Sunday.

"The president has a flexible schedule, and he immediately reacts to changing circumstances, be it foreign or interior affairs. For example, his decision to address the nation concerning the pensions issue - he made the decision instantly, he announced it, and literally the next day we were recording it. He also worked on the text by himself, was making corrections until the last moment, and read it himself," Peskov said.

The draft bill on changes to the national pension system submitted by the government to the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, stipulated a gradual increase in the retirement age to 65 for men (by 2028) and 63 for women (by 2034).

President Vladimir Putin said earlier in a televised address to the nation that he supported the much-talked about reforms to the pension system in general, but noted that the relevant draft bill requires serious revisions. He suggested setting the retirement age as 60 for females and 65 for males. The head of state also considers necessary to double the unemployment benefit for pre-retirement age individuals since 2019, introduce preferential retirement in the age of 50-57 for mothers with many children and keep land tax and real property tax benefits for citizens at the level of the current retirement age. Putin also noted the need of introducing employer’s liability for unjustified dismissal or refusal to employ pre-retirement age individuals.

The changes proposed by the president should be included during second reading of the bill by the Russian State Duma on September 24.