Russia’s State Duma adopts pension bill in final reading

The Lower House of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, on Thursday adopted a pension bill with the president’s amendments, in the third and final reading. The bill was approved by 332 deputies, while 83 voted against it. The legislation will now be passed to the Federation Council for consideration on October 3, according to members of the Upper House. The key amendments to the government initiative were made by President Vladimir Putin, suggesting that the age of retirement should be set at 60 for women. For men, the retirement age is set at 65 years. In August, Russia’s Central Election Commission granted its permission to three initiative groups for preparations for the All-Russia referendum on the pension changes, including a group formed by members of the Communist party.