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Will Belarusians’ Pensions ‘Burn Out’ Like Money On USSR Pass Books?

Will Belarusians’ Pensions ‘Burn Out’ Like Money On USSR Pass Books?
SOURCE: RUCRISIS.NET

A new stage of the robbery of the people is beginning.

Cardinal changes occurred in the pension legislation of Belarus following the initiative of Lukashenka. Belarusians had no opportunity to prepare for them.

This is primarily about the "pension trap" and the "trap of insurance experience", which now includes Belarusian men who have reached the age of 60, and 55-year-old women.

With regard to many of them, the term of obtaining eductaion, service in the army, entrepreneurship are no longer included into the lbor record. And because of the increase in the retirement age, they do not even have the right to a social pension.

As a result, people remain without means to live and are forced to seek work in the labor market - being at an age that employers simply ignore.

But that's not all: in order to reduce the expenses of the Federal Service for Social Protection, the authorities are preparing another "surprise" for the Belarusians. It turns out that in the near future some citizens will be deprived of state pensions altogether.

Charter97.org spoke about the peculiarities of the pension provision in Belarus with ex-Minister of Labor Aliaksandr Sasnou.

- How do you assess the innovations hat have recently occurred in the pension system of Belarus?

- All this so-called pension reform reveals either the extreme lack of professionalism of those who did it, or particular cruelty towards their fellow citizens.

In any civilized state, they would take into account the interests of people at a vulnerable age and protect their rights legislatively. But not in our "social state".

- How do you assess the situation of Belarusians who will not receive pensions at 60 and 55? Given that the Belarusian labor market is already very small, and even the young go to work abroad?

- Yes, now even official statistics states an increase in the number of Belarusians who are forced to work abroad. Basically, these are young people, those who have a lot of strength and who can settle abroad.

Those who fell into the "pension trap" or "trap of insurance experience" remain (in the 21st century!) without any means of subsistence at all. And we must speak openly about this.

These are the authorities in our country: they have received big pensions under the law on special pensions for civil servants. As for ordinary people, the authorities don’t really care about them. In the heads of the rulers, starting from the biggest boss, the queerest ideas about how the society and the state should look have settled.

In no normal country, a law that worsens the status of citizens has retroactive effect. Here, people have put before the fact in a way that they can do nothing - as that 61-year-old man from Baranavichy.

The retirement age beats the Belarusians from behind the corner with a "fag on the head": many do not even have time to figure out what happened. People after reaching certain age are now simply thrown out of life.

Only scoundrels act like this, bandits from the big road.

- It was reported that the authorities are planning to introduce obligatory-voluntary system of endowment assurance? How do you assess this initiative?

- There are several points. First, it is obvious that the authorities are trying to escape responsibility and shift care of pensions off to the citizens.

In a civilized country, this would be a perfectly acceptable option - the transition from a distributive pension system to a funded one. But we, I am sure, will do everything so that the state again reaped at the expense of citizens. First, the 29% that enterprises deducted to the Social Protection Fund, need to have been given to people. That is, salaries for Belarusians should grow by one-third. Do you believe in this under the current government? I very much doubt it.

Secondly, these 29% had to be given to people at least 20 years ago, so that they managed to make themselves pension savings.

Finally, the question arises: what are these "special" categories of "rich Belarusians" from whom the authorities want to take away the state pension and force them to voluntarily enforce their money for retirement? As far as I've heard, these are employees of organizations that have tax incentives. And due to these benefits, the authorities want to oblige them to make cumulative contributions. But it's just shifting from one pocket to another. And it is not a certain fact that this money will fall into the pocket of an employee.

- The authorities have already hinted that it’s the companies from the IT sphere, from the High Technologies Park that have tax benefits. Does it mean that programmers will be left without social pensions?

- The state wants to dispossess those whom it considers "rich" and once again demonstrates the dubious character of the actions of our officials.

After all, even in IT, people's wages are very different. That is, both novice testers with very modest incomes, and top managers with earnings of several dozens of thousands dollars a month will be obliged to give the money.

It remains to be hoped that our programmers, like clever people, will outplay the system and make savings on their own, outside Belarus, and will not allow themselves to be left with nothing at their old age. Those who think about the future do not play our state’s dubious games.

- Besides, about the future. In case the system of endowment assurance is introduced, are there any guarantees that this money will be preserved and everyone will be able to use it in elderly age?

- Absolutely no guarantees of this. Rather - on the contrary. The Belarusian ruble has been unstable in the recent years. It is shaken by devaluations, then zeros are removed in the process of denominations ... Moreover, its rate is related to the rate of the Russian ruble, which is now shaking because of the US sanctions.

And if the authorities officially abolish state pensions, then within the policy of dedollarization they are unlikely to allow to make savings in hard currency. Rather, it will happen in Belarusian rubles - with all the ensuing consequences.

The Belarusian authorities do not know how to "run long distances". They think only in speculative categories. They are interested only in short-term projects, which make it possible to quickly enrich themselves at the expense of the people. Therefore, it will be extremely foolish and imprudent to entrust their money to these "pension funds". As they say - watch the hands, the new stage of a robbery of citizens begins.

Most likely, one day pension savings will "burn out", as money was burned in the pass books of the USSR. The authorities can do this very easily.

If they made a "pension trap" for people who have worked hard all their lives, then they will easily go on depreciating the money savings. What really means their appropriation, since before the "X" hour those who are "particularly close" will transfer this money into a hard currency, and the people will be left with nothing.

It's as clear as a tear. The Belarusian government, headed by Lukashenka, only thinks about how to fill their pockets.

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