Watching the initiatives of some ministers, it seems that the Government announced a competition for the most anti-social proposal. The adviser of the Interior Minister urges to toughen censorship of the Internet and to block websites where the authorities are often criticized by people. The Ministry of Energy reassures that a rolling blackout is a normal practice of the reasonable economy. The Ministry of Defence announced the surprise for the graduates of the military departments: the additional conscription with the service in the ATO zone.
However, the Ministry of Social Policy surpassed all the colleagues. Recently, it shared the plans concerning the pension reform, which covers both 12 million current pensioners, and the next generations. These statements were especially indicative, as they were made when Ukraine commemorated the victims of the Revolution of Dignity.
The key thesis (the exact words) is that Ukrainians must deserve pension, not just to live till the age of 60 years. It doesn’t disturb officials that they are trying to change the rules post factum for the millions of people, and that the pensions of the whole generations of Ukrainians are already ‘decommunized.’ The Government is convinced that those citizens who have no 30-35 year experience do not deserve pensions.
By the way, those, who have no necessary term of employment, according to the Ministry, are able to buy it from the state just paying the insurance contributions (according to the new rates of the unified social tax) for all ‘non-work’ months. On the one hand, this unique (from the point of view of the global practice) proposal demonstrates that the pension fund and the budget in general are filled badly. On the other hand, the initiative is doomed to failure due to its absurdity from the very beginning.
It is difficult to imagine that the current pensioners and those people, who are to retire a few years later, will buy the missing years of experience. First, it is a huge sums of money – tens and hundreds of thousands hryvnias, while the distressed people just don’t have this sum. However, the Ministry answers this argument immediately: their children should pay for them.
Second, is there really a sense in giving own savings to the state, if tomorrow comes a new minister, who changes the rules once again? Ukrainians with their bitter experience know that their relations with the state are like the game against casino that will always find the way to leave you empty-handed.
Third, why contribute the last money into the hazy prospect of obtaining pension in hryvnias several years later, of it is possible to invest these means into something more real, which may support you in old age? For example, if one opens an account in a bank with this sum, it is possible to have monthly percent, which is higher that the state pension (with it being only UAH 1,247, alas, it is not difficult); but in addition, a person maintains the upfront investment – the principal amount of the deposit.
Assuming that the authorities have already destroyed the trust in the banking system, it should be still noted that the strategy of convert all the savings into foreign currency or gold looks much rationally than the purchase of experience from the pension fund.
In addition to the double increase of the single tax for working Ukrainians, the Ministry still plans to increase the pension age for women. And the most shocking of the novelties, proposed by the Ministry, is the idea to prohibit working pensioners to obtain salary and pension simultaneously.
It is an interesting strategy for the country, where the number of working-age population decreases all the time: to force working people to retire and to stop paying single tax, which fills the pension fund. I don’t know what in this anti-national reform is the own ideas of our Government, and what is the recommendations of the IMF. But I am sure: Ukrainian pensioners should not pay for the incompetence of the authorities; and it is unfair and amoral to patch the holes in the budget at their expense.
