YEREVAN. – The Government of Armenia will set up a working group, which will prepare the bill on making amendments in the Law on Funded Pensions.  

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan stated the aforesaid at Thursday’s Cabinet meeting.

In his words, the working group will comprise representatives from the relevant organizations, and they will introduce a bill to the National Assembly, where the Constitutional Court (CC) ruling on Wednesday will be considered.

“This is a unique opportunity for the civil society to participate, together with the government, in the drafting of legislative amendments, with a view to improve the existing system.

“We look forward to a start of dialogue and the improvement of the legislation,” Sargsyan stressed.   

He informed that the working group will include representatives from the Justice, Labor and Social, and Finance Ministries plus the Central Bank.

“The Law on Funded Pensions remains in effect until September 30, when the amendments will be made,” Tigran Sargsyan also clarified.

The CC on Wednesday deemed unconstitutional a whole series of articles in the new Law on Funded Pensions, which were contested with a lawsuit by the four non-ruling-coalition parliamentary factions.

The CC gave the parliament and the government until September 30 to amend the aforesaid law’s provisions that were considered unconstitutional. In addition, all the mandatory pension deductions which already were made shall be reviewed.   

Constitutional Court Judge Feliks Tokhyan, however, stated the following in this respect: “The law on funded pensions will be in effect until September 30, and the citizens are required to continue to pay the mandatory pension payments.”