Azarov: Pension Fund needs subsidies from state budget

The Pension Fund, in order to ensure the payment of pensions for the first two weeks of 2011, needs about UAH 9 billion in subsidies from the state budget, which exceeds the amount of revenues for this period, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has said.

"The Pension Fund needs over UAH 9 billion from the state budget in the first two weeks of this year alone in order to ensure the uninterrupted payment of pensions," he said, while opening a government meeting in Kyiv on Wednesday.

Azarov noted that nearly UAH 60 billion had been allocated from the state budget in 2010 in order to support the Pension Fund.

He also noted that the creation of an effective system of pension provision was a pressing problem of society and a top priority for the government.

Azarov gave the responsibility for reforming the pension system to Deputy Prime Minister and Social Policy Minister Sergiy Tigipko.