Uzbekistan weighs raising retirement age amid reform push

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (MNTV) — Authorities are preparing to overhaul the country’s pension system, with proposals to gradually raise the minimum retirement age for the first time in more than three decades.

According to the news outlet Spot.uz, Murodbek Atadzhanov, executive director of the state Pension Fund, said a government working group has drafted two reform scenarios. Both would gradually raise the retirement age — to 63 for men, up from 60, and to 58 for women, up from 55.

One option envisions a six-month increase per year, completing the transition within six years. A softer scenario would raise the age by three months annually, stretching the reform over 12 years. Atadzhanov noted that many countries already set retirement at over 65, while Uzbekistan has not revised its threshold in 32 years.

Officials point to rising life expectancy, now 75 years, as a key driver of change. Two decades ago, citizens lived on average 8–9 years after retirement, compared with 12.5 years for men and 20 years for women today, according to the Health Ministry.

The Pension Fund has not yet finalized its recommendation. Authorities plan to launch a social platform to collect public feedback for a month before submitting a draft package. Broader reforms include laying the groundwork for private pension funds, though officials say such schemes are unlikely to appear before 2030.

Calls for reform have grown in recent years. The International Monetary Fund has urged Tashkent to gradually raise the retirement age, calculate pensions on lifetime earnings, and index payments to inflation. In 2024, the government created a working group tasked with presenting a comprehensive reform concept to the president by September 2025.