YEREVAN. – The “I am against” civil movement on Thursday held an awareness campaign, at the State Engineering University of Armenia (SEUA)—also known as the Polytechnic—, against the new pension law in Armenia.

The participants in the civil movement spoke and called upon the several hundred students , who were gathered in the University courtyard, to fight against the deduction from their future salaries, the Armenian News-NEWS.am reporter informs.

The University students and lecturers were applauding the addresses.

Incidentally, SEUA Rector Ara Avetisyan informed that even though he had 5 percent deducted from the salaries of the University lecturers, he allocated them premiums.

The new funded pension plan, which formally came into force in Armenia on January 1, 2014, is mandatory for those born in and after 1974 and voluntary for those born before 1974. In line with this plan, 5 to 10 percent of the monthly salaries in Armenia will be deducted and mandatorily be allocated to cumulative pension funds; the latter will be reimbursed as pensions once a person turns 63 years old.

On January 24, however, the Constitutional Court decided to suspend the execution of some components in the Law on Funded Pensions pending the hearing—on March 28—of the petition submitted by the four non-ruling-coalition parliamentary forces—the Armenian National Congress, Prosperous Armenia, ARF Dashnaktsutyun, and Heritage—, and into the constitutionality of the several articles of the law.

Notwithstanding this, some employers already are deducting the mandatory pension payment from the salaries of their employees.