New Armenian pension system needs correction, protesters in Yerevan assert

On November 15, a protest action, held in Yerevan demanded from the authorities to update and correct the new pension system, they plan to launch since January 2014. The rally near the building of the National Assembly of Armenia (Parliament) brought together about 800 persons.

Having learned that the MPs from the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) had boycotted the extraordinary session of the Parliament on the issue of the pension reform, the protesters went to the headquarters of the RPA aiming to urge the MPs to come to the Parliament and take part in the debates. They were joined by the MPs from the oppositional factions.

Armen Rustamyan, an MP from the ARF (Armenian Revolutionary Federation) "Dashnaktsutyun" and one of those who joined the protest, has stated that the new accumulative pension system will tell very negatively on the socially vulnerable citizens of the country.

"People actually can hardly make ends meet; and here they'll also have to pay additional taxes for each family of 5 to 9 percent of their wages," he said.

Mr Rustamyan has noted that the problem will also touch the youth: "Instead of encouraging them and provide them with additional benefits, the reform is aimed at the contrary."

The protesters demanded from the Armenian authorities to correct their pension reform.