661,000 people in front of ATMs. Pensioners’ challenge next year – Out of Sight
December 14 2025, 12:00
Starting next year in Armenia, all citizens aged 63 and above will be required to open a bank account and receive a bank card. From 2026, all types of pensions and benefits in Armenia will be provided through cashless transactions.
About 661,000 people, including those with disabilities as well as elderly individuals with limited mobility, will have to go out, find an ATM, insert their card, and enter a four-digit code. Otherwise, they will have to entrust their card to unfamiliar and potentially unreliable young people.
Beyond mobility issues, there is another concern. Many elderly people who have received their pensions at home through postal delivery for decades are unlikely to immediately learn how to use an ATM.
Even within the government, there is no clear consensus on when the law should take effect. Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Arsen Torosyan stated during a cabinet meeting that the law would come into force on April 1, 2026, but Prime Minister Pashinyan ordered that it should take effect starting January 1.
Alongside this, Pashinyan declared that age 63 is not for retirement but rather a good age to start a business. According to experts, such statements are being made in preparation for raising the retirement age threshold.
Speaking with AlphaNews, experts noted that cashless pension distribution will create additional difficulties for pensioners, whose pensions are already the lowest in the region.
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