YEREVAN. – Members of the “I am against” civic initiative, which opposes the new pension law in Armenia, on Saturday held an awareness campaign on bicycles in capital city Yerevan.

About two dozen activists started and finished the bicycle rally at Liberty Square (PHOTOS).

“The objective of the rally is to inform the people about, and to include more people to, the fight against the mandatory component of the funded pensions.

“A bicycle rally is an effective way of raising awareness,” initiating group member Hayk Avetisyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.   

The cyclists rode around Liberty Square several times, and subsequently began their rally, which was accompanied by some police cars.     

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.        

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am