How Displaced Artsakhtsis Can Receive Pensions in Armenia

The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Republic of Armenia informs that pensions and benefits for persons forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh are allocated and paid in Armenia according to the existing legislation. Consequently, the conditions for pension allocation for displaced persons (including the age qualifying for a pension, and the duration of work experience) are the same as for citizens of Armenia.

“Our compatriots forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh, if registered at their place of residence in Armenia, can apply for the following types of pensions: labor pensions (age, special conditions, long-term service, disability, loss of breadwinner, partial); military pensions (long-term service, disability, loss of breadwinner). If they have received social pensions in Nagorno-Karabakh due to old age, disability, or loss of breadwinner, in lieu of the mentioned pensions, they will be allocated benefits in Armenia corresponding to old age, disability, or loss of breadwinner.

If a person has received a pension in Nagorno-Karabakh based on holding public positions, they will be assigned a labor pension based on the application submitted to the local unit of the Unified Social Service, or if they apply to the relevant body (for example, the Ministry of Defense), they may receive a military pension.

The pension in Armenia is assigned, paid, and its amount is calculated in accordance with the procedure stipulated in the law on State Pensions. According to the established procedure for calculating the amount of labor pensions, it is dependent on the duration of work experience, the basic pension amount, and the value of one year of work experience. Accordingly, the minimum pension amount in Armenia is 31,600 drams; the basic pension amount is 24,000 drams (previously set in Nagorno-Karabakh at 21,500 drams); the value of one year of work experience for the first ten years is 950 drams (previously 1,150 drams in Nagorno-Karabakh); for each year exceeding ten years, it is 500 drams (previously 600 drams in Nagorno-Karabakh).

Thus, the amount of the pension assigned and calculated under Armenian legislation may differ from the amounts assigned and paid in Nagorno-Karabakh. The pension in Armenia is paid electronically. Based on the pensioner's application, the pension may also be paid in cash if the pensioner (or, in the case of a minor or a pensioner under guardianship, their legal representative: parent, adoptive parent, or guardian) has a severe or profound degree of disability or has reached the age of 75. The pension can be paid in cash either with a power of attorney or to a minor who is over 14 years old.

To apply for a pension, one should visit any territorial center of the Unified Social Service (addresses can be found at https://bit.ly/3h99yYU). If a person was a pensioner in Nagorno-Karabakh as of September 2023 and their pension payment has not been suspended, they can submit their application for pension in Armenia online at the website www.socservice.am until July 1, 2024.

Pensioners and beneficiaries from Nagorno-Karabakh can also benefit from a 10% cashback program. Therefore, if you are a pensioner or beneficiary and carry out cashless transactions at commercial points and service-providing organizations operating in Armenia, you will receive cashback equivalent to 10% of the total amount of your transactions, but not exceeding 5,000 drams. From now on, all pensioners and beneficiaries can take advantage of this program, regardless of which banks they use to receive their funds,” the statement reads.