US government is ready to provide continued support for the successful implementation of this pension reform, US Ambassador to Armenia John Heffern said.

His remarks came during the third annual pension conference titled “New Pension System: Opportunities, Challenges and Expectations” that was held in Yerevan on Friday.

He said that the government now needs to provide more information on how the new system will ensure the safety, efficiency, and impartiality of pension contributions for all Armenians.

Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran Sargsyan, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Artem Asatryan, U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John A. Heffern, USAID/Armenia Mission Director Karen Hilliard, and members of the Pension Reforms Management Board attended the event.

In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Sargsyan shared the primary motivations behind the introduction of the new pension system. He discussed its necessity and inevitability in view of the socio-economic developments of recent decades and its painful reception by the generation that had to carry the burden of the first wave of the reform, resulting in behavioral and cultural changes.

Representatives of the Central Bank of Armenia and the Ministry of Finance made presentations at the conference, speaking about the practical and operational components of the reform, including guarantees of fund security, legal limitations, and levers for state supervision.