Will Russian pensioners become richer?

The article considers the demographic and economic prerequisites for adopting a Russian law on raising the age of retirement taking into account population projections and ageing. The author compares the reasons for such a decision of the state with pension reforms in high-income countries. The article concludes that there is no enough preparatory period and the gradualness of the Russian reform and this sharply distinguishes Russia from other countries. That makes this reform too drastic for the population. the work contains a comparative analysis of the old-age dependency ratio (older people 65+), the level of participation of the elderly population in the labour force, the level of pension benefits and wages and analysis of a number of other indicators in Russia, on the one hand, and Japan, Germany, France, Great Britain and Sweden on the other. The paper examines the evolution of the views of members of the Russian government and government experts on the readiness of Russian society to raise the retirement age and the need for immediate implementation of this reform, the urgency of which officials denied only one year ago. The work emphasizes the impossibility of an objective evaluation of the whole complex of problems of Russian pensioners due to the lack of necessary data.