Uzbekistan plans to raise retirement age

In Uzbekistan, the retirement age is planned to be gradually increased. This was announced today, September 10, by Murodbek Otajonov, executive director of the Off-Budget pension fund under the Ministry of Economy and Finance, during a roundtable dedicated to the 32nd anniversary of the Law ’’on state pension provision for citizens’’.

According to him, the draft pension reform envisages raising the minimum retirement age from 60 to 63 for men and from 55 to 58 for women. The process is expected to be implemented gradually, with the retirement age potentially rising by six months each year.

Otajonov noted that in many countries the minimum retirement age exceeds 65, while in Uzbekistan it has remained unchanged for 32 years since the adoption of the law.

He also emphasized that life expectancy in Uzbekistan has been increasing. Official data shows that the average lifespan has reached 75 years. Twenty years ago, pensioners lived on average 8–9 years after retirement, whereas today the figure is 12.5 years for men and 20 years for women.

The executive director of the Pension fund added that instead of raising the retirement age by six months annually, an alternative option is under consideration, increasing it by three months each year. In that case, the retirement age would rise by one year every four years, and the reform would last for 12 years in total.

QALAMPIR.UZ contacted the spokesperson of the Pension fund, Bahriddin Ziyodov, to clarify this information. According to him, no decision has yet been made regarding raising the retirement age, and at present, it has only been presented to the public as a proposal. The Fund intends to launch a special platform to collect public suggestions on pension system reforms, and this process will last for one month. After reviewing the submitted proposals, further discussions will be held, necessary amendments will be introduced, and the draft pension reform will be officially presented with the participation of journalists and bloggers.

It is worth noting that earlier, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that Uzbekistan’s current pension system needs to be reformed to ensure its medium-term sustainability and provide adequate pensions. In particular, the IMF recommended gradually increasing the retirement age.

Later, the Pension Fund commented on this proposal, stating that no final decision has yet been made regarding raising the retirement age in Uzbekistan. It noted that recommendations from international experts on pension reform are currently being analyzed in terms of their applicability to Uzbekistan’s conditions, their impact on the population’s living standards, and their economic consequences.

At that time, it was also emphasized that any changes to the pension system, including matters related to the retirement age, would be introduced gradually, only after broad public discussion and with due consideration of the opinions and interests of the people.