Armenian MP critical of pension size in Armenia

ArmInfo. The best indicator of the state of the Armenian economy is the size of the pensions provided to the country's citizens. This was stated on November 13  during parliamentary hearings on the draft state budget of the  Republic of Armenia for 2025 by National Assembly deputy Gegham  Nazaryan. 

According to him, the size of pensions determines the real state of  the state's economy, since the lack of opportunities to solve the  urgent problems of pensioners indicates the existence of problems in  the Armenian economy. The deputy cited a German proverb: if you have  brains, you have money; if you don't have brains, don't even dream of  money. With proper governance of the country, the deputy continued,  it would be possible to find ways to improve the situation with  Armenian pensioners. He pointed out, not without sarcasm, that the  country's pensioners should be happy that they are not offered to  undergo certification in order to improve their financial situation,  during which they will have to prove that they are good grandfathers  and grandmothers.

Nazaryan also noted that the state of the country's economy can be  evidenced by the huge number of vehicles on the streets of Yerevan  during working hours. "A person with a fresh outlook, paying  attention to the number of cars at 11:00, at 15:00, at 16:00 will  understand that few people work in Armenia," the MP said, adding that  there are two reasons for this: in the context of the strengthening  of the national currency, local producers are not interested in  continuing their activities and low wages, which scare off many  workers. Nazaryan called on the government of the country to pay  attention to these two circumstances in order to understand whether  wages are really low or people do not want to work. 

According to the draft state budget of Armenia, there is no provision  for an increase in pensions and benefits in 2025. Under the  conditions of ensuring GDP growth of 5.6%, 3.5% GDP deflator and  average inflation of 3.6%, the state budget revenues of Armenia in  2025 will amount to 2 trillion 996 billion drams.  State treasury  expenditures are planned at the level of 3 trillion 605.4 billion or  31.5% of GDP.