OREANDA-NEWS. During the seminar “The Policy of Active Longevity and Pension Reforms: Russian and International Experience,” HSE experts assessed the impact of pension reform on Russia's economic growth.

 Experts predict that by 2035, able-bodied citizens in Russia will be less by 5.4 million people, and the economically active population will decrease by 2.8 million people.  Despite the conducted pension reform and raising the retirement age, it is expected that the GDP growth rate will decline annually by an average of 0.23% over the period 2019–2025.  Over the years 2026-2035, this figure will significantly reduce to the level of 0.08%. Raising the retirement age will add about 0.22 percent to GDP over the period 2019-225, and also by 0.15% from 2026 to 2035.

 “Raising the retirement age does not fully compensate for the negative effect of the reduction in the working-age population on the economy,” said Natalia Akindinova, director of the Center for Development of HSE.  She also noted that without the pension reform, the negative effect would be twice as much.