Russia needs to take steps to increase its economically active population, including unpopular measures like raising the retirement age, World Bank Vice-President for Europe and Central Asia Philip Le Wairua said on Wednesday.
Forecasts suggest that Russia’s economically-active population will shrink by 25 million people to 2050 due to unfavorable demographic trends, but the government could ease their impact through an increase in the pension age, he told an economic forum on Russia’s development in 2012-2020.
The Russian government should also take measures to improve the efficiency of spending on education, health care and social welfare. The low quality of medical services pushes up medical treatment costs and compels people to retire early, he said.
The retirement age in Russia is much lower than in other European countries. The majority of men are entitled to retire at 60 and women at 55. Miners, lumberjacks, pilots, cosmonauts as well those in as a dozen other professions are entitled to retire even earlier.
Neighboring Ukraine, which has similar demographics but more severe financial problems, introduced a higher pension age in July 2011, partly at the instigation of the IMF.
