Lawmakers propose mandatory notification of heirs about deceased citizens’ pension savings

Lawmakers have proposed making it mandatory to notify heirs during court proceedings concerning the transfer of deceased citizens’ funded pension savings to the state budget.

The issue was raised by Armenia faction MP Artur Khachatryan during discussions on the 2027 state budget bill at a joint session of the National Assembly Standing Committees on Labor and Welfare and Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs.

Addressing Minister of Labor and Welfare Arsen Torosyan, the MP referred to an investigation published by Hetq and asked about cases in which the mandatory funded pension savings of deceased citizens had been transferred to the state budget.

Torosyan said he was not sufficiently familiar with the details of the investigation and considered it necessary to discuss the matter with the relevant colleagues to establish what had happened.

The issue was also addressed by MP Nazeli Baghdasaryan (Civil Contract), Chair of the Standing Committee on Labor and Welfare. She highlighted the need to notify heirs, proposing amendments to the relevant procedure.

“The problem is that courts are hearing these cases without notifying legal successors. We could amend the procedure to make such notification mandatory. I think the solution lies in this area,” Baghdasaryan said.

Khachatryan endorsed the proposal, stressing that heirs should be notified before the funds are transferred.

“I fully agree. Legal successors should be notified first, and only then should the money be transferred. I think no reasonable person would renounce an inheritance,” the MP said.

On October 31, Hetq published an investigation detailing cases in which investment fund units held in the funded pension accounts of deceased citizens had been declared ownerless, with the corresponding funds transferred to the state budget. One of the key issues highlighted in the investigation was that relatives were unaware of the existence of the accounts and the procedures for inheriting the funds.

According to Ministry of Finance data cited in the investigation, more than 90.8 million drams had been transferred to the state budget in such cases over the past five years. As of October 8, 2026, the ministry had filed 128 lawsuits seeking to have investment fund units held in funded pension accounts declared ownerless.