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The Ministry of Labor and Welfare of Armenia has put into circulation a bill proposing to increase the amounts of pensions and benefits in the country starting January 1, 2027.
Anahit Galstyan, Head of the Pension Provision and Other Payments Policy Department at the Ministry of Labor and Welfare, said the changes would affect around 700,000 people.
The increases are being made based on several factors.
“First, the labor pension will increase. It is currently 34,000 drams and will become 34,500 drams as of January 1. This means that every labor pension will increase by at least 500 drams. We are also increasing the minimum pension, which is currently 46,000 drams, to 47,000 drams. Labor pensions for persons with disabilities will increase by 40% in cases of profound disability and by 20% in cases of severe functional limitations,” Anahit Galstyan said at a press conference.
Pensions will increase by a minimum of 500 drams and a maximum of 1,200 drams.
As for military pensions, Anahit Galstyan said there would be two types of increases. Pensions for enlisted military personnel with disabilities who served mandatory military service will increase by 1,400 drams. The pension paid to a family member of a killed or deceased servicemember will also increase by 1,400 drams, while pensions for officers and non-commissioned officers will increase by an average of 1,144 drams.
The pension increases will also be financed through savings. In particular, the bill proposes changes to the funeral benefit system. Under the current rules, a funeral benefit is provided to a person who organizes the funeral of a pensioner or a person registered in the social assistance system. Under the proposed new regulations, the funeral benefit would be provided to a person who organizes the funeral only of a person registered in the social assistance system.
As a result of these changes, 4.3-4.4 billion drams will be saved. The government will add 1.2 billion drams to the savings to finance the pension increases starting January 1.