Pre-election populism: Mesrop Arakelyan assesses pension increase

Starting April 1, pensions in Armenia will increase. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that lower pensions will rise by 10,000 drams, while higher pensions will see smaller adjustments. He also emphasized that the calculations do not include any retroactive payments.

In an interview with Aysor.am, Mesrop Arakelyan, co-founder of the “Land to Live” party, described the pension increase as “another pre-election populist step.”

“Nikol Pashinyan understands very well that his rating among pensioners is declining day by day. In recent months, the issue of bonuses and the authorities’ brazen attitude toward it - ‘we work well, so we receive them’ - has drawn a strong negative reaction from both pensioners and other segments of society,” he said.

According to Arakelyan, pension increases during a fiscal year are normally planned within the framework of the state budget, as they require substantial financial calculations. In his assessment, initiating such a change just a month and a half after the start of the year “has neither financial nor managerial logic.”

“There is no justification for where that money will come from. It turns out that only a month after the start of the year, they are predicting higher budget revenues,” he said, reiterating that the move is populist.

At the same time, the opposition figure noted that regardless of the political assessment, any pension increase is positive for pensioners given their serious financial difficulties. However, he noted that the prime minister’s actions are driven solely by the goal of maintaining power.

According to Arakelyan, if the current government remains in office, citizens will not see long-term positive changes, and some initiatives could create new problems, citing the planned introduction of health insurance as an example.

“Taking such a step now, after doing nothing for five years, shows they understand their policies are ineffective,” Arakelyan said, adding that a change of government is necessary through the will of the people.

On social policy, he added that the minimum pension should be set at least at the level of the consumer basket - around 80,000 drams. “Only in this case can we say that a real pension increase has taken place in Armenia.”