RUSSIA – A fourth draft law on pensions has been put before the State Duma, the Russian lower legislative house.

The new draft calls for an amendment to the tax code of the Russian Federation and complements the draft laws on retirement pensions, state-run pension system and compulsory pension insurance, which were submitted to the Duma in July.

These laws, along with the investment of pension assets draft to be submitted in November, form the backbone of the pension package designed to introduce the funded pillar section of the pensions reform, according to the Tacis/EastWest Institute’s Russian pension review.

The tax law draft would allow tax revenues obtained from levying a ‘single social tax’ to be taken out of the state budget and used for investment purposes instead.
The Tacis/East West Institute says the funded pillar cannot work without the amendment.

Elsewhere, the pensions debate in Russia has been given a boost by the intervention of President Putin, who has called on the Cabinet to take measures aimed at speeding up the process by which the Duma will adopt laws relating to the future of investments and pensions.