Armenian Government Raises Pensions

YEREVAN — The Armenian government has raised the country’s pensions by roughly 7 percent amid continuing double-digit economic growth. It also approved on Thursday similar increases in disability benefits. They too will take effect on July 1.

Speaking during a cabinet meeting in Yerevan, Labor and Social Affairs Minister Narek Mkrtchyan said the average monthly pension in Armenia will reach about 50,000 drams ($128). Retired military personnel will now be paid 91,600 drams per month, he said. The government raised the minimum pension by almost 14 percent, to 36,000 drams.

These figures will pale in comparison with the country’s average monthly wage, which currently stands at about 256,000 drams ($656), according to government data. The average pension will also remain well below the per-capita minimum cost of living.

The so-called “consumer basket” calculated by the Armenian Statistical Committee is now worth just over 80,000 drams. Mkrtchyan said that the government remains committed to gradually bringing the average pension to this level in the coming years.

The pension rises were clearly made possible by Armenia’s robust economic growth that exceeded 12 percent in 2022 and seems to be continuing unabated now. They will not be enough to offset nearly 9 percent consumer price inflation recorded last year. According to the Statistical Committee, inflation fell to just 1.3 percent in May this year.