The first inaugural meeting of the working group on the development of the pension accumulation scheme in Ukraine took place on August 3 with the participation of Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
The discussion was also joined by together Minister of Social Policy Maryna Lazebna, Minister of Finance Serhii Marchenko, World Bank Global Director for Social Protection and Jobs Michal Rutkowski, Chairman of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission Ruslan Mahomedov, MPs, representatives of financial markets, the public and others.
Denys Shmyhal stressed that the President of Ukraine had set an objective for all public authorities - a person is at the center of social development.
"The absence of a funded pension system in Ukraine for 30 years, as well as the stock market, is a crime against the state and Ukrainians. It lies in our power to stop and correct the situation. In addition to providing people with a decent pension, we will also provide the real sector of the economy with a long-lasting, inexpensive and reliable resource," said the Prime Minister.
Minister of Social Policy Maryna Lazebna noted that the introduction of a system of mandatory pension accumulation in Ukraine has been talked about for 16 years, but no government has been able to introduce it. Today, she said, Ukraine has a chance to change this situation if efforts are joined.
"We already know the social and economic cost of procrastination. Every year, on average, about 600,000 people lose the opportunity to participate in this system and have pension savings in addition to the pay-as-you-go pension. The average pension could have been 20-25% higher due to pension savings of people who would have been members of the system since 2007. And this is only 14 years of accumulation process and, by the way, this figure is calculated taking into account the two crises of 2008 and 2014. Pension savings would amount to more than UAH 1 trillion, ie about 25% of GDP in 2020," said Maryna Lazebna.
In his statement, World Bank Global Director for Social Protection and Jobs Michal Rutkowski congratulated the Government on the launch of activity of the working group. He noted the importance of introducing a funded system in Ukraine so that retired people can receive income from various sources: both from the state and from the private sector.
On the outcomes of the meeting, it was decided that the Ministry of Social Policy, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy are to develop proposals for the introduction of social packages with funded pensions starting from 2023 for public sector employees on the basis of current legislation. Representatives of public authorities should also consolidate their efforts to ensure the passage of the necessary bills in the Verkhovna Rada.
The Prime Minister also instructed the relevant ministries to work with local authorities to launch regional funded pension programs.