Hayakve civic initiative co-founder Avetik Chalabyan stated that the demand to raise pensions had been initiated back in September 2025 and that more than six months of continued efforts had begun to yield initial results, Panorama.am reports.
He said they wished to congratulate more than half a million pensioners, while stressing that the pension increase is not only delayed but also “absolutely partial and incomplete.”
According to him, over the previous seven years pensions had not increased as much as under the latest decision.
“We have spoken about the fact that pensions in our country are unacceptably and unjustifiably low, and that budgetary resources are spent on numerous political and unjustified purposes instead of being used to improve the welfare of our hundreds of thousands of citizens,” Chalabyan said.
He emphasized that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs had previously described the demand as populism and even a hybrid war against their administration, arguing that raising pensions was not advisable because pensioners would not be able to use the additional funds effectively.
“Thank God, that absurd course they had adopted finally came to a logical end, when they acknowledged what was obvious to all of us — that pensioners in our country live in a deprived and humiliated condition and their problems must begin to be addressed,” he added.
Chalabyan claimed that the authorities feared pensioners might vote against them in elections and therefore raised pensions and benefits by 10,000 drams as an electoral incentive. However, he argued that pensioners would accept the increase and still vote against the authorities.
Labor and Social Affairs Minister Arsen Torosyan told reporters after the government session that from April the decision to increase pensions by 10,000 drams will affect 667,000 people, Armenpress reports. In some cases, the increase may amount to 7,000–8,000 drams.
Responding to questions about why pensions were not raised earlier, ahead of elections, the minister said that pensions and benefits had previously been increased through other mechanisms, including cashback schemes, direct increases several years ago, and additional benefits such as health insurance for citizens over 65.
He noted that objective circumstances had also emerged, particularly the higher-than-expected economic growth recorded in 2025, which allowed the government to make fiscal policy decisions that previously seemed riskier.
“As a result, it was decided that almost all pensions, affecting 667,000 people, will increase by 10,000 drams, while some pensions, such as survivor pensions, will increase by more. In very few cases, the increase may be 7,000 or 8,000 drams. This concerns a small number of citizens who already receive pensions nearly twice the average,” Torosyan said.
It was noted that financing the increase this year will require approximately 80 billion drams in budget expenditures. According to Torosyan, the government has the necessary funds and will reallocate them to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.
Several decisions related to the pension increase are expected to be adopted at upcoming government sessions.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had announced on February 25 that pensions and benefits would be raised starting April 1.
