Czech president signs reform to raise retirement age

Czech President Petr Pavel has signed a pension reform, according to which the retirement age will be gradually increased to 67 years. This was reported on Friday, December 13, by the publication České noviny.

"The pension reform signed by the president, which caused a fierce polemic between the government and the opposition when approved in Parliament, provides for a gradual increase in the retirement age by two years - up to 67 years, as well as reducing the size of newly-appointed pensions," the publication said.

It is noted that the main reason for such a measure were statements of demographers and economists about the impending inability of the Czech economy to provide sufficient funds.

In some cases, the new reform allows early retirement. For example, workers in hazardous industries, mine rescuers, police special forces and other professions in the fourth risk category will be able to retire earlier by five years.

The minimum pension payment under the new reform corresponds to 20% of the average salary.

The Czech opposition reacted negatively to the new reform. The movements ANO ("Action of Dissatisfied Citizens") and SPD ("Freedom and Direct Democracy") promised the citizens of the state to cancel most of the amendments to the legislation on pensions, if they come to power, because they consider these amendments anti-social.

Earlier, on September 13, the Xinhua news agency reported that the National People's Congress (China's parliament) approved the decision to raise the retirement age from January 1, 2025. The implementation of the decision will take 15 years. For men, the retirement age will be raised from 60 to 63 years, for women - from 50 to 55 years for working professions and from 55 to 58 years for office-related professions.

In spring 2023, the retirement age was also raised from 62 to 64 in France. The pension reform law, which gradually increases the retirement age by 2030, sparked a wave of protests in the country, some of which continued into 2024. In July, the left-wing party Unruly France announced its intention to introduce a bill to repeal the reform.