MOSCOW, May 20 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian prime minister urged the authorities on Wednesday to try and find areas in the budget that could be cut to allow pensions to be increased, as well as carrying out pension reforms in 2010.

"The cost of pension reform for the budget is extremely high, totaling hundreds of billion of rubles annually," Vladimir Putin said at a session on the social aspects of the federal draft budget for 2010, 2011 and 2012.

"In conditions of production cuts and reduced budget income this task is extremely difficult both for the government and for State Duma deputies," he said.

Putin added that a significant increase in pension payments is the most important task that needed to be achieved in 2010, describing it as "our moral duty before the older generation."

The average monthly labor pension in 2010, he said, should be 7,946 rubles ($251) with a social pension of 4,917 rubles ($156).