Even AMD 20,000-rise in pensions would not resolve pensioners`  problems - premier 

ArmInfo.  Increasing pensions won't solve the problems of pensioners in Armenia. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan recently used a case study, or case-control study, to  identify a similar "pattern" using the example of one specific  pensioner who complained that he couldn't heat his home with his  pension.

"Just recently, last year, I had a conversation with a highly  respected pensioner. He said he receives a pension of just over  50,000 drams, and spends about 27,000-28,000 on heating his home, but  he still can't get warm. He says the government must now increase  pensions so he can at least heat his home," Pashinyan said at a  cabinet meeting on January 8.

After this conversation, he said he began "studying the situation at  a specific address, at a specific building." "And I've noted for  myself that if, for example, we raise pensions by 20,000 drams, then  the same citizen will spend not 27,000, but 35,000 drams on  electricity and heating, but the house still won't get warm, since  there are numerous problems in the house, from the windows to the  walls," Pashinyan explained.

Thus, the head of the Armenian government concluded, the authorities  will not solve pensioners' problems by increasing payments.

As a reminder, on December 3, Pashinyan expressed doubt from the  parliamentary rostrum that pensioners are capable of wisely managing  their finances and spending their money. "So we're thinking, let's  increase pensions by 10-11 thousand drams. What will pensioners do  with it? What will they spend it on? Our research shows that  citizens' top expenditure is healthcare. Therefore, why give people  this money? So they won't know how to effectively use this money for  their health? Well, they'll go to the pharmacy and buy the wrong  thing. They'll receive the wrong medical care. But we're investing  these 10 thousand drams in health insurance, creating a system where  they'll likely receive services worth not 10, but 20, 30, 40, 50, or  even perhaps 100 thousand drams," he said. It should be noted that,  according to data for the first half of 2025, the total number of  pensioners was 500,300, of which approximately 384,800 receive a  labor pension and 101,800 receive a disability pension. The remaining  approximately 15,000 people receive other types of pensions (for the  loss of a breadwinner, for length of service, and several others).  The number of working pensioners in the first half of 2025 was  approximately 112,000 (approximately 22% of the total).

At the beginning of 2026, the minimum pension was approximately  36,000 drams, and the average pension was approximately 49,000 drams.  Meanwhile, by the third quarter of 2025, the cost of the minimum  consumer basket per person was 81,681 drams, and the food basket was  44,152 drams.