Russians fear pensions time-bomb
A time-bomb is ticking in Russia's pension system.
Finance minister Alexei Kudrin recently caused a stir when he said that the pension age would have to go up from 60 for men and 55 for women to maintain pensions at "respectable" levels.
Already the government is pumping billions of dollars into the system.
But reforming it will be a struggle. Russia's population is shrinking, the introduction of private pensions insurance has failed to take off, and raising the pension age will be resisted by many in a country where male life expectancy is still only 61.
Kristina Block reports.
31 Jul 2010
- From the section Business