The National Bank of Kazakhstan has proposed to equalize the sufficiency thresholds for the early withdrawal of pension funds for the purchase of real estate or medical treatment and for the purchase of retirement annuities,El.kz reports with reference to the Economic Review of the National Bank of Kazakhstan.
At the moment, the thresholds for the use of pension funds for various purposes differ. The sufficiency threshold for withdrawing part of the pension funds from the UAPF to improve housing conditions or pay for medical treatment is lower than the threshold for purchasing a retirement annuity.
Analysts of the National Bank note that there is an imbalance that affects the choice of citizens. Men under 48 and women under 57 prefer to withdraw funds for the purchase of real estate or medical treatment, as the threshold for these purposes is lower. In 2023, the threshold for purchasing a deferred retirement annuity for men is 7.3 million tenge, for women - 9.1 million tenge, while the threshold for partial withdrawal for housing or medical treatment is 6.95 million tenge.
In this regard, analysts consider it necessary to revise current approaches and introduce a single threshold for all purposes of using pension funds. This, in their opinion, will avoid social tension.