Officials are proposing a phased increase to the retirement age and minimum work record, along with changes to pension calculations and an overhaul of the funded pension system, under a draft presidential decree on improving public welfare and reforming pension provision, published for discussion.
Under the plan, the retirement age would rise by three months each year starting in 2028, reaching 63 for men and 58 for women by 2039 — up from the current thresholds of 60 and 55, respectively. The minimum work record required to qualify for a pension would also increase gradually, from the current 7 years to 15 years by 2034.
How the retirement age would rise
The phased increase would begin January 1, 2028, adding three months each year until the retirement age reaches 63 for men and 58 for women by 2039.
The draft includes added protections for workers nearing retirement age: employers would be barred from firing or refusing to hire someone solely because they are approaching retirement. Those officially registered as unemployed would retain the right to retire two years early, and preferential terms would continue for full-time workers in underground, hazardous or physically demanding jobs. In addition, men from age 60 and women from age 55 would be able to access funds accumulated in their individual pension accounts regardless of the rising standard retirement age.
Longer work record required for pension eligibility
Starting in 2027, the minimum work record required for an age-based pension would increase by one year annually, rising from 7 to 15 years by 2034. Citizens who fall short of the minimum work record would still be able to claim an age-based allowance five years after reaching the standard retirement age.
The draft also proposes gradually extending, starting in 2027, the earnings period used to calculate pensions to 20 years, while excluding the lowest-earning 10 percent of that period from the calculation. The state would simultaneously begin matching voluntary pension contributions.
Last September, officials floated a similar phased increase — raising the minimum retirement age from 60 to 63 for men and from 55 to 58 for women, with a Pension Fund representative saying two versions of the increase were under consideration at the time.
In July 2024, the Agency for Strategic Reforms reported that pension system coverage stood at just 38 percent, largely due to high levels of informal employment. It noted that despite contribution rates of 12–25 percent — high by international standards — payouts remained only average, prompting the agency to examine ways to make the pension system more adequate.
