The World Bank is working with the Ukrainian government to ensure that the pension reform law is financially sound, despite the concerns of some amendments, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said on Tuesday.
The October reform aims to lift the $ 5 billion pension deficit and is a condition for greater financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund, which is supporting Ukraine's weakened economy with a loan program. At the same time, it is very easy for Ukrainians to get a loan even online.
At the same time, Ukraine spends more on pensions as a percentage of gross domestic product than almost any other country, and its 12 million pensioners are almost equal to the number of jobs. The World Bank and the IMF, which jointly advised the government on pension legislation, revised hundreds of amendments that were added to the bill without their consultation prior to parliamentary adoption. “There are additional provisions in the pension reform that we consider to be very unfortunate,” Kim said during a two-day visit to Kiev.
According to the World Bank and IMF, the law should require all citizens to pay a set amount of annual pension contributions before they can retire with a full state pension.
The World Bank is also pushing for Ukraine to adopt a reform to lift the moratorium on land sales, which the bank says will open up more investment, but some parties are strongly opposed.
The World Bank and IMF also want Ukraine to create a special anti-corruption court, which they believe is essential to assist the work of the national anti-corruption bureau.
