If pension reform is reversed, the deficit of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in 2013 will rise by UAH 12.7 billion, the fund's deputy head, Valentyna Nykytenko, has said.

"The Pension Fund's deficit target for 2013 is UAH 21.7 billion. If pension reform is cancelled today, the fund's deficit will grow by UAH 12.7 billion," she said at a press conference in Kyiv on Monday.

She said the implementation of the pension would take several years and its positive effects will not be immediate.

As reported, the parliamentary factions of the Communist Party of Ukraine, UDAR Party, and Svoboda All-Ukrainian Association are calling for the abolition of the pension reform.

At the same time, on April 17 the Verkhovna Rada failed to reduce the retirement age for women in Ukraine to 55.

The Verkhovna Rada on July 8, 2011 passed a law on pension reform, which foresees a gradual increase in the retirement age for women from 55 to 60 years and an increase in pensionable service by ten years for men and women.

The president signed the law on September 9, 2011.