Parliament rejects opposition pension bill in first reading

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia’s National Assembly has rejected a bill presented by the Armenia opposition faction that sought to raise pensions by tying them to the value of the food and consumer baskets.

The vote concluded with 32 deputies in favor, 58 against, and 1 abstention, according to Sputnik Armenia.

Before the vote, tensions rose during a heated debate between opposition and ruling party MPs. Members of the Civil Contract faction accused the opposition of populism, while opposition deputies responded by accusing the government of manipulating statistics to mislead the public.

The Armenia faction’s bill proposed that, starting January 1, 2026, the minimum pension should not fall below the food basket’s value, and the average pension should match the value of the consumer basket, which includes non-food items and utility expenses.

Artvik Minasyan, the bill’s co-author and secretary of the Armenia faction, noted during the debate: “The government, in its 2021–2026 program, promised to ensure that the minimum pension would exceed the food basket value. But since the fourth quarter of 2024, this is no longer the case: the minimum pension is 36,000 drams, while the minimum consumer basket is around 36,700 drams.”

It was also highlighted that, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the average pension in Armenia is expected to exceed 49,000 drams in 2025, whereas the estimated minimum consumer basket stands at 75,800 drams.

Another faction member, Artur Khachatryan, stated: “The government avoids the obligation to index pensions to the consumer basket and leaves it as a declarative goal in its program, bearing no responsibility for failing to implement it.”

Currently, Armenia does not officially calculate the minimum consumer basket. All available figures are unofficial and do not impose any legal obligation on the government to adjust pensions or social benefits.