President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed proposals for reforming the country's pension system on July 14. A number of new mechanisms aimed at developing funded, private, and corporate pension systems, improving the pension calculation procedure, and encouraging citizens to actively participate in this system were discussed.
According to the presentation, the pension amount in Uzbekistan has been increased by 3.3 times over the past ten years. Currently, the minimum pension amount is 878 thousand soums. This figure exceeds the minimum consumer spending amount of 715 thousand soums. It was also noted that until 2021, 1.1 million citizens received pensions of less than 400 thousand soums, a situation that has now been resolved.
The presentation highlighted that in developed countries, the funded pension system serves as a long-term financial resource for the economy. Experts from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the International Labour Organization have also noted that improving this system in Uzbekistan would allow for attracting a large volume of long-term funds into the economy.
In this regard, it was proposed to develop funded, private, and corporate pension systems based on advanced foreign experience.
Currently, 0.1 percent of citizens' wages is transferred to a funded pension account. However, it was noted that the annual 10 percent return accrued on these funds is nearly two times lower than the interest rates offered on bank deposits.
According to new proposals, if a citizen with a monthly salary of up to 7.6 million soums transfers 5 percent of their salary to their funded pension account, the state will additionally allocate another 2.5 percent of funds.
For those with a monthly salary exceeding 7.6 million soums, it is proposed to transfer 1 percent of the social tax paid on the portion exceeding this threshold to their funded pension account.
Changes to the pension calculation procedure are also planned. Currently, the pension amount is calculated based on the wages of a five-year period within the last ten years of employment, and wages exceeding 6 million soums are not taken into account. It was noted that this in some cases leads to a reduction in the pension amount.
Therefore, it was proposed to extend the wage period considered in pension calculation from 5 to 20 years and to exclude certain periods of low income from the calculation. At the same time, it is planned to increase the maximum wage limit considered in pension calculation from 6 million soums to 6.6 million soums starting from 2027.
According to calculations, if these changes are implemented, the pensions of citizens retiring under the new procedure could increase by an average of 8 percent compared to the current system.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized that changes in the pension system directly affect the lives and future of millions of citizens and noted the need for a thorough analysis of the social and economic consequences of each proposal.
Additionally, responsible officials were tasked with conducting an open discussion of these reforms with the participation of the public, mass media, and bloggers, and with comprehensively explaining their purpose and expected results to citizens.
At the end of the meeting, it was instructed to develop a draft law aimed at introducing private and corporate pension systems, based on a thorough study of foreign experience.
