Russian State Duma to hold pension reform hearings in third decade of August

Russia's State Duma, the lower house of parliament, will hold expanded hearings on the controversial retirement age hike on August 21, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said.

"Given the importance of this bill, it would be right to discuss it thoroughly before the autumn session," the Duma speaker said in a statement.

Members of the government, representatives of the legislative and executive authorities of the Russian regions and republics, civil society institutions and experts are also expected to take part in the hearings.

The State Duma on July 19 passed the pension reform bill in the first reading to raise the retirement age to 65 from 60 for men by 2028 and to 63 from 55 for women by 2034, the Moscow Times recalls.

The bill has to be passed in three readings by the State Duma, then approved by the upper house and signed into law by President Vladimir Putin.