The opposition parties in the Romanian Chamber of Deputies' committee for labor voted Monday in favor of setting the standard retirement age to 60 for women and 64 for men. This amendment to the pension bill also reduces the minimum number of qualifying years to 10 for both genders, from 15 previously, and the number of years required for a full pension to 30, from 35.

The amendment was proposed and voted by members of the Social Democratic Party and Liberal Party, both in opposition. Earlier, the ruling coalition's deputies had left the committee's meeting re-examining the pension bill. They argued that the only topic should be President Traian Basescu's objection to the bill, namely the retirement age for women, and anything else would make the discussion unconstitutional and against the Chamber's rules.

The current age for retirement is of 58 years and ten months for women and 63 years old and ten months for men.

Mediafax