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27-Aug-08 11:15 [Europe, Middle East and Africa]
Latvian pension reform fails to be passed A referendum held by the Latvian government has failed in its attempt to raise the national old age pension rate, it was reported.
The scheme was opposed by the Latvian government, led by Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis, after fears that the rise would have brought the social security system into bankruptcy.
A vote was taken but failed to gain quorum after the amount of votes failed to hit the 453,730 required to pass the judgement, with only 334,000 Latvians casting their decision at the polls last Saturday.
It was questioned whether or not pensions in the country should be brought up to the government-set subsistence level, which would have prospectively tripled the monthly pension from 50 lats (£56) to 135 lats.
Of those who voted, 96 per cent backed the pension rise.
Earlier this month, Agence France-Press noted that the Baltic states, including Latvia, were "shouldering the heaviest inflation burden in the EU", with many pensioners struggling to get by on current pay-outs.
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