Lithuania’s ruling bloc to review government’s proposed pension reform by September

Several bills regarding the so-called tax reform may be separated from the overall package and passed by the end of the Seimas spring session, with the remaining legislation to be postponed until the fall.

The Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union (LVŽS) and its junior government coalition partner, the Lithuanian Social Democratic Labor Party (LSDDP), expect to assess the government’s proposals on an overhaul of the pension system by September 1.

The Seimas on Thursday appointed a working group of six lawmakers and four experts to analyze the government’s pension reform plan and to give their opinion and proposals on how to improve the proposed changes.

The discussions center on two proposals related to the state social insurance fund Sodra’s revenue. The first is to reduce the social insurance contribution rate by 2 percentage points and the second is to use state budget funds, rather than the social security system funds, to pay basic pensions.

The working group will include Social Security and Labor Minister Linas Kukuraitis and the heads of the parliament’s committees on budget and finance and on social affairs and labor.

Stasys Jakeliūnas, chairman of the Committee on Budget and Finance, says that Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis and the heads of the LVŽS and LSDDP) political groups in the Seimas have approved the appointment of the working group.

According to Jakeliūnas, the pension reform is unlikely to be launched until 2020.