Tuesday, 6 July 2010
The State to guarantee future pensioner-funded sums
Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Artem Asatryan and Deputy Minister of Finance Vardan Aramyan met with journalists at the Government’s Press Center. The meeting was entitled: “On the way to implementing pension reform: action and challenges.” The speakers described the past and future steps on the way to implementing Armenia’s pension reform. Artem Asatryan noted that some 50 legal acts and 5 draft statutory laws will have to be adopted, with 44 laws set to be amended under the reform. They have already been approved by the National Assembly in the first reading. At this point the reform is in the process of public debates.
The deputy minister of labor and social affairs specified those stages to be carried out in the near future. The introduction of the funded pension scheme as from 2011 was said to be pivotal in this process. The voluntary stage will be followed by the mandatory one in 2014. In the meantime, all those concerned will be busy building up the needed resources and infrastructures.
Artem Asatryan also advised that the transition to the funded scheme does not mean that the current system will be ousted: the State will continue paying out pensions for the years at employment.
The deputy minister of finance referred to the question of State guarantees to be made available under the reform. According to the speaker, a guarantee fund will be established. Starting from 2014, all the amounts deposited by the citizens of Armenia will be guaranteed to 100%.
The Guarantee Fund was said to be responsible for only 20 percent of funded sums, with the balance of 80% to be provided by the Government as stipulated by corresponding legal acts.
The deputy minister of finance assured that the citizens of Armenia may not worry about the future of their savings which will be prevented from being mismanaged and wasted. In 2011, the State will provide incentives to ensure a smooth transition toward the funded scheme.
