RETIREMENT BENEFITS TO GROW 50% IN 2008-2012
YEREVAN, September 3. /ARKA/. Retirement benefits are to grow 50% over a period between 2008 and 2012, Armenian Finance and Economy Minister Vardan Khachatryan said Wednesday.
He told journalists after presenting the 2006 governmental report on spending state budget means to Armenian National Assembly’s standing committees that retirement benefits were planned to exceed poverty degree 1.5 times.
“The prime minister (Serge Sargsyan - ARKA) stressed the necessity of raising pensions 60% and driving an average pension up to poverty degree”, the minister said.
According to him, the ministry is now calculating poverty degree for 2006. This degree is presumably to make AMD 21842 (about $65).
Khachatryan said that the expenses for making retirement benefits greater will be envisaged in the 2008 state budget and AMD 50 to 52bln will be targeted for that in addition to the means collected by Social Insurance Fund.
“It means problems of 500000 Armenian retirees will be solved. Besides, the retirement benefits are planned to grow 50% within five years, 10% annually. The greater pensions don’t mean greater tax burden”, the minister said.
National Statistical Service of Armenia says there were 516535 retirees in the country at the first half of 2007.
The then retirement benefit averaged 12.6thnd. ($1=AMD 336.45). M.V.-0----
