Russia ends extra time

Prime minister Dmitry Medvedev announced the Russian state pension age would be hiked from 60 to 65 for men by 2028 and 55 to 63 for women by 2034.

Expected to be officially adopted by next year, the new policy would mean the country’s retirement age for men would be a year higher than the World Health Organisation’s estimated life expectancy for a Russian man of 64. It estimated around 40 per cent of men and 20 per cent of women would not live long enough to claim their pensions under the new rules.

The announcement came during the national team’s 5-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in the opening game of the World Cup, a move that led some to accuse the government of trying to bury the news.