Discussion on pension reforms held

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ A discussion concerning reforms for the pension insurance was held Tuesday in the State House. It brought together members of the parliamentary Standing committee on social policy, education, culture and science; S.Erdene MP, the Minister of Population Development and Social Insurance; department heads of the Ministry; related experts and officials from the World Bank (WB). Head of the Standing committee on social policy, education, culture and science D.Battsogt made the opening remarks, saying that some 60% of the pensioners in Mongolia have been receiving the minimum size of pension. Moreover, 70-80% of the pensioners are in debt of the pension credit, therefore the livelihood of those pensioners tend to become worse, he stressed. Regarding the issue of pension insurance reform, Battsogt underlined it is vital to intensify the a reform in the individual’s pension account, to estimate a proper ratio between the commission and pension, to upgrade a method of calculating pensions, to make capital of the pension fund transparent for the public, and to propagandize an importance of the voluntary insurance. Mentioning that the legal documents on social insurance will be renovated in accordance with the governmental programme, the Minister of Social Welfare S.Erdene said the social insurance sector should be reformed in order to prevent a possible crisis in the social insurance because a deficit of the pension insurance fund is expected to reach 4-5% of the GDP by 2030. A department head of the Ministry L.Monkhzul delivered a report themed “Reasons and goals of reforming the pension insurance system in Mongolia”. Following it, an expert from the WB Permanent Representative Office Ch.Tungalag shared experiences of other countries on the pension reform issues. The participants exchanged views on the matter. Then parliamentarians Z.Bayanselenge, S.Ganbaatar and O.Baasankhuu expressed their positions and touched upon the relevant issues.