Kazakh leader sends back new pension bill to parliament for revision

"During the process of drafting and adoption of the bill, I closely followed public debates. I am well familiar with the arguments of proponents and opponents of the new bill. It should be noted that the point about unification of the retirement age of men and women was the most topical issue of the discussions. As I see, the reason behind this is awkward actions of the government and that of the National Bank. Firstly, such a key social bill on pensions was considered as an ordinary bill, but not as a necessary vital measure guaranteeing people's welfare and also the efficiency of the pension system in the long-term. Secondly, the government, specifically, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, has failed the job to defend the bill in public debates. As a result, a significant part of Kazakhstan's people are cautious ab! out the pension reform and do not understand its meaning. On the whole, my assessment of the performance of the government and that of the National Bank to explain the new pension bill to the public is negative," President Nazarbayev said in remarks broadcast by Khabar TV on 7 June.

Nazarbayev said he had returned the bill to parliament for a revision. He suggested that the MPs should possibly raise the retirement age for women not from 1 January 2014 but from 1 January 2018.

Earlier, the Senate approved in the second reading the bill "On pensions in the Republic of Kazakhstan", as well as the accompanying bill "On amendments and additions to some legislative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on pensions".

The bill on the pension system provides for the creation of a single pension fund, the unification of retirement ages, the mandatory pension contributions, the elimination of discrimination in employment, maintaining employment for persons older than 5! 5 years, benefits for women of retirement age and support for elderly people in the countryside.

Source: newskaz.ru