Belarus requires up to USD 500 million to finance Social Security Fund deficit

According to the Finance Ministry, the deficit in the social security fund in January-April 2017 totalled BYN 301 million or USD 158 million. The Social Security Fund has had deficit since 2015 and in order to solve the problem, the authorities decided to raise the retirement age. Due to a decrease in the number of employed in the economy amid a growth in pensioners, deficit in the Social Security Fund is likely to retain. Thanks to low inflation the authorities would not raise pensions and social benefits and may introduce some operational and functional cuts in the Fund’s budget. In 2016, the state allocated USD 750 million to finance the Social Security Fund budget deficit. In 2017, the Fund’s deficit is likely to reduce to USD 500 million, which would be funded from the state budget at the expense of other expenditure items.