Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor

On 2 June 2020, HCA Vanadzor applied to Zaruhi Batoyan, Minister of the RA Labor and Social Affairs by sending a letter. The letter was about the concern of a citizen of retirement age.  

N.Gh. applied to HCA Vanadzor on May 26 and informed that he had left for the Russian Federation to work there as he did not manage to find a job in Armenia. In February 2020 he reached his pension age.

He decided to return to Armenia to organize his pension matters. Due to the coronavirus situation, N.Gh. cannot return. 

In his application addressed to HCA Vanadzor he mentioned that in case of not keeping the established terms, he would be assigned a pension not when he reached the relevant age, but when he applied to be appointed a pension. As a result, due to the situation which was created not by his fault, he could be deprived of the opportunity to implement his right to pension within the timeframe provided for by law and would lose the amount of money to be paid to him as pension. 

In the letter addressed to the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, the Organization asked for certain clarifications in response to the citizen’s problem.

Referring to a number of Articles of the RA Law “On state pensions”, the Organization presented all the situations stemming from the law that concern the problem raised by the citizen. 

It turns out that due to the state of emergency and closed borders, not presenting an application within 3 months after reaching the age of pension will deprive the citizen from the pensions envisaged for these months.

Based on the situation, HCA Vanadzor asked the Minister to take measures to ensure the implementation of the right to pension of persons who were outside Armenia and could not return to their motherland due to the pandemic, by considering respectable not meeting the envisaged deadline.

In the response letter, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs presented the Minister’s recommendation of 25 March 2020 based on the instructions of the Commandant’s Office.

In case the three-month or six-month timeframes envisaged under Article 34 of the RA Law on “State pensions” expire in March, April or May 2020, but the pension appointment application is presented on 25 June 2020, it is considered as presented within the timeframe provided for by law.

Thus, if the citizen presents an application on the appointment of pension by 25 June 2020, he will be appointed pension starting from the day when he obtained the right to pension.

At the same time, the Ministry informed that the matter of reextending the timeframe for presenting pension appointment applications is in the discussion phase.