Pension increase does not cover minimum consumer basket – Tadevos Avetisyan

Economist Tadevos Avetisyan told Alpha News that the timing of pension increases is linked to the upcoming elections and deviates from established practice.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? The pension increase was carried out ahead of the elections rather than at the beginning of the year. As a rule, pensions are raised at the start of the budget year—January 1—and this is reflected in the annual budget. In this case, the decision follows pre‑election logic,” Avetisyan said.

At the same time, the economist noted that the need for a significant pension increase had long been evident and has objective grounds.

According to him, since the approval of the government program in 2021, the quality of life of pensioners has deteriorated—primarily due to the rise in minimum essential expenses. Avetisyan assessed that over the past five years, minimum expenses have grown much faster than pensions, resulting in a decline in pensioners’ real incomes.

“During this period, the minimum expenses necessary for human survival have sharply increased—faster than pension growth. In other words, the real incomes of pensioners have decreased,” he said.