Annual 13th pension could be introduced for low-income pensioners

Published March 25, 2019 at 10:29 am

An elderly woman walks past a sports goods shop with pigeons flying around in downtown Moscow on August 8, 2018.The pension age in the country will rise -- for the first time in nearly 90 years -- by eight years to 63 for women. For men, it will rise by five years to 65 -- just two years short of average male life expectancy. / AFP PHOTO / Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV

Photo by AFP

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said that the annual 13th pension for people who receive minimum social transfers could be introduced if the country’s economy grows.

“We will definitely continue prioritizing pensioners in the implementation of social policy. I do not exclude that one of the possible options would be payments of the 13th pension annually to those who receive the minimum pension,” Poroshenko said on the Ukraine TV channel last week.

The president said that the condition for the introduction of the 13th pension is the growth of the economy.

“To do this, today we need to ensure economic growth, a breakthrough if you like. And today we are ahead of both the Russian Federation and many European countries in terms of economic growth,” the president said.