IMF: Pension reform in Ukraine is an important condition for the next loan
The implementation of pension reforms in Ukraine is an important condition for the cooperation between Kyiv and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Director of the IMF's European Department, Poul Thomsen said, UNIAN reports.
According to Thomsen, within the framework of pension reform, it is necessary to raise the retirement age, which will lead to a reduction in the deficit of the Pension Fund of Ukraine. According to the Director of the European Department of the IMF, Ukraine has the world's second largest Pension Fund deficit in relation to the country's GDP.
"This [raising the retirement age] is really an issue that is under discussion in the context of the next revision [of the IMF-Ukraine cooperation program] in order to develop a reliable plan to cope with this in the future. Thus, the answer is yes, pension reform is an important part of the next revision of the program," Thomsen said.
Earlier, on April 3rd, during a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said that Kyiv plans to implement pension reforms that will meet the requirement to "eliminate the deficit in the medium term," 112 Ukraine reports. According to UNIAN, the government of Ukraine plans to increase pensions as of October 1, 2017 and cancel the taxation of pensions for working pensioners. At the same time, Kyiv does not plan to raise the retirement age.
The last tranche from the IMF in the amount of 1 billion USD was received by Ukraine on April 3rd. According to Groysman, the tranche will be used to replenish the reserves of the National Bank of Ukraine.
The IMF loans provided to Ukraine amount to about 8.4 billion USD. Kyiv is hoping to receive another $8.3 billion USD by the end of 2018, as part of the IMF lending program, which is aimed at supporting economic reforms in Ukraine and preserving financial stability in the country.