03/03/2015 20:57
Z. Postanjyan: Ex-presidents don’t need honorary pensions, they are well-off
During the extraordinary session of the Armenian parliament today, a bill on amendments and additions to the law on remuneration, service and security of President of the Republic of Armenia was submitted by the government for debate.
The bill reserves the ex-presidents’ right to receive an honorary pension. By the bill, that pension shall be recalculated to make 70% of the salary of the incumbent president.
During the debates the deputy of ‘Heritage’ faction Zaruhi Postanjyan told the main speaker, Armenian Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Artyom Asatryan:
“You are granting that pension to two ex-Presidents (Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Robert Kocharyan), but do they need it? I don’t think so because in Armenia there are currently people who are worse off than they are,” she noted.
According to Postanjyan, the two former presidents of Armenia are well off. She also asked why the issue is debated at an extraordinary session of the parliament.
“You probably want to pension off those two people, in particular Robert Kocharyan. I would like to know how much is the total amount (in drams) of pensions of the two former presidents,” she said.
“The law has been in effect since 1995-1996 and since then we have paid honorary pensions to the ex-presidents,” the minister said adding that the issue has nothing to do with their well-being.
He explained that the payment is a form of assistance that is not related to social programs. “The bill was drafted for establishing the institution of the presidency. It is accepted around the world” he noted.
In response, Zaruhi Postanjyan said that the minister did not reveal the amount of the honorary pension paid to the ex-presidents so far and the amount to be paid in the future. “And it would be interesting to know whether the ex-presidents have ever said they want to give up that pension,” she said.
The minister replied that the ex-presidents of Armenia did not file such applications. As regards the amount of the honorary pension, A. Asatryan said he could not calculate it at the moment. “The calculation is made based on a relevant procedure,” he added.