1. Retirement Age Reform: Issues to Consider in Russian Federation
Zoran Anušić, Senior Economist
Moscow, Russian Federation
March 30, 2017

2. Improving Life Expectancy Extends Retirement Period in Russian Federation
Current life expectancy for men at statutory retirement age of 60 doesn’t support the case for a higher male retirement age
Men are expected to spend an average of 15 years in retirement if they retire at age 60
Female life expectancy at statutory retirement age signals a very high duration of retirement, exceeding 25 years as of 2015
Source:

3. Male Life Expectancy at Retirement Age Lower than in Other Countries ....
Source: World Bank database

4. ... but Female Life Expectancy at Retirement Age is among the Highest
Source: World Bank database

5. Rationale for equalizing retirement ages between men and women
Women live longer than men
Women end up with lower pensions than men by retiring earlier
More than half of women between the ages of 55 and 59 remain economically active, suggesting that they are capable and/or interested in continuing to work beyond age 55
Common „traditional” arguments against:
Women „work two jobs”
Women raise children and care for elderly and disabled
Source:

6. Narrowing Future Male-Female Retirement Age Gap in OECD
Years
11 out of 35 OECD countries currently have a lower retirement age for women
But only 2 out of 35 OECD countries plan to maintain a lower retirement age for women in the future (Israel and Switzerland)
Source: OECD Pensions at a Glance update for Poland amd Slovenia

7. Treatment of working pensioners in EU countries and Russian Federation
Early retirement
Regular retirement
Full pension
allowed
Pension reduced
(percent of reduction)
Pension reduction
Bulgaria
Belgium (up to 100% income tested)
France
Denmark (30% income tested)
Germany
Italy
Germany (income tested)
Estonia
Greece (70% income tested)
The Netherlands
Spain (reduced if full time work)
Portugal
Cyprus (taxed by SS contribution)
Ireland
Latvia
Finland
Luxembourg (50% income tested)
Slovenia (100% income tested)
Slovakia
Estonia (100%)
Cyprus
Sweden
Greece (100%)
Lithuania
United Kingdom
Czech Republic (100%)
Luxembourg
Russian Federation
Ireland (100%)
Malta
Latvia (100%)
Lithuania (100%)
Austria
Hungary (100% income tested)
Poland
Malta (100%)
Austria (100% income tested)
Romania
Romania (100%)
Croatia (100% or income tested)
Croatia
Source: World Bank

8. Discouraging Early, Encouraging Late Retirement
Source: World Bank

9. Automatic Adjustment of Retirement Age to Life Expectancy
Source: Schwan and Sai (2013), European Economy, Economic Papers 512.

10. Summary conclusions
Retirement age of 60 for men currently seems appropriate, but Russian male life expectancy increases,
Retirement age for women is on the low side,
The international trend has been toward equalization of retirement ages between men and women,
Liberal employment rules after retirement encourages earliest possible retirement in Russian Federation,
Stimulating late retirement with expensive bonuses keeping low retirement age may not be sustainable,
Russian Federation could consider gradually equalizing retirement age for women with that of men and linking it with life expectancy. If general early retirement is introduced, early decrement would need to be at least actuarially neutral.