To the Draft of the Law of Ukraine “On making changes in the Law of Ukraine “About obligatory state retirement insurance” with regard to the improvement of the pension provision”

1. Justification for necessity to adopt the Act.

After adoption of the Law of Ukraine dated 8 July 2011 “On measures to the legislating provision of the pension system reformation” (hereinafter referred to – the Law on the pension reform) the restriction of the constitutional rights of millions of citizens of Ukraine occurred that became a fragrant violation of the Constitution of Ukraine, part III, article 22 which secures the following provision: “On adoption of new laws or making changes in the laws in force it is not admitted to narrow down a content and a scope of existing rights and a freedom”.

People’s deputies had to make amendments to the Law of Ukraine On the Pension Reform under pressure of citizens which are not different and who moved with protests against introduction of the retirement reform in the form which was proposed by the Government lead by Nickolai Azarov.

Therefore, those women who have not worked since 1 January 2015 and who has more than 30 years of insurance length of work experience will be denied a right to get pensioned at the age of 55. According to the Ministry of Social Policy data about 50 000 unemployed Ukrainian women that is 20% of all pensioned women used exercise their lawful right of early retirement. So every fifth woman who is 55 does not want to wait for a “new” increased pension age and accept the execution of retirement in the decreased scale of pension.

2. Purposes and Tasks of the Act.

A bill was developed with the purpose of abolishing unconstitutional restriction of the rights and directed not to allow after 1 January 2015 to narrow the content and the scope of existing rights and freedom of all unemployed women and not to admit after 1 January 2016 to narrow the content and the scope of existing rights and freedom of usual Ukrainian pensioners.  

3. Overall characteristic and basic provisions of the draft Act.

The bill provides for making changes in the first intent, part I, article 40, in the Law of Ukraine “On obligatory state retirement insurance”, did read “before 1 January 2016”, now read “until 1 January 2022”, as well as make changes in the first intent, item 7-2 of Final provisions of the Law, did read “before 1 January 2015”, now read “until 1 January 2022”.

4. Normative legal basis status.

The draft law provides for making changes only in the Law of Ukraine “On obligatory state retirement insurance”.

5. Financial and economic justification.

Implementation of this bill provisions will require additional costs. But in this case it is a matter of cancellation of unconstitutional restriction of the rights and non-admission of the narrowing of the content and the scope of existing rights and freedom of our citizens. And this is a constitutional regulation and liability towards the citizens. Additional costs will be provided for in the State budget for the next year.

6. Forecast of social and economic, and other consequences of the bill approval.

The approval of the draft law will have an extremely great importance since unconstitutional restriction of the rights of our citizens will be canceled.

Mr. Yuriy Shukhevych, People’s Deputy of Ukraine