The Armenian government has revised its controversial pension plan umpteen times, but many Armenians just don’t like it. And the government just does not give up.
The main problem -- mandatory salary deductions for a national retirement plan -- was discarded after a wave of protests, battles in parliament and a smack-down by the Constitutional Court. In a rare policy-concession to the opposition, the ruling establishment gave workers the discretion to opt out of contributing five percent of their salaries to the pension fund, but now questions are asked about how optional is optional.
On May 13, Armenia's parliament reluctantly approved in its first reading a truncated, deductions-optional version of the original bill. Some political parties welcomed the “free will” addition to the draft, but still the ruling Republican Party of Armenia was the bill's lone supporter. Others chose to abstain or oppose.
The most ardent critic of the pension scheme, and of the government in general – the Armenian National Congress (ANC) – maintained that, despite the compromise, a compulsory savings system has been forced on Armenia. The government has the means to put pressure on public and even private companies to force employees to make the transfers to the pension fund no matter what their individual decisions, asserted the ANC, RFE/RL reported.
The claim is debatable, but some media reports already alleged that the government is putting pressure on public servants to keep pitching into the pension fund.
Labor Minister Artem Asatrian denied these allegations, but skepticism persists. In a country that has experienced several economic slowdowns, the pension epic only highlighted the lack of public trust in the government’s ability to handle both the economy and people’s savings.
Giorgi Lomsadze is a journalist based in Tbilisi, and author of Tamada Tales.
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