“Today, our elderly citizens are facing a reality where prices rise every day, while pensions remain stagnant for years. The refusal to implement quarterly inflation indexing and justifying it with ‘budgetary risks’ or ‘administrative complexities’ is the pinnacle of state incompetence and social indifference,” writes economist Hrayr Kamendatyan, a member of the ‘Hayakve’ initiative.
1. The burden of inflation falls on the most vulnerable citizens
When prices for food, medicine, and utilities skyrocket in the first quarter, pensioners are expected to ‘wait’ until the end of the year or an uncertain future, hoping that the state will increase their income by a penny. What is this if not a vicious attempt to close budget gaps at the expense of the elderly?
2. Budget revenues increase immediately, while pensions do not
This is a blatant economic manipulation. With the rise in prices, the state simultaneously collects more VAT and indirect taxes. The state budget benefits immediately from inflation, while pensioners are told that ‘quarterly recalculation is complicated.’ In other words, there are no technical difficulties in tax collection, but when it comes to providing pensioners with access, the system is ‘overloaded.’
3. The myth of ‘annual indexing’
The insignificant annual review does not compensate for the losses incurred by pensioners throughout the year. The inflation that occurs in the first months of the year effectively erodes the purchasing power of pensions, and by the end of the year, elderly individuals find themselves on the brink of survival.
Conclusion
If the state is capable of promptly changing tax rates or funding futile programs, it must also find technical and financial solutions for quarterly indexing. Quarterly indexing of pensions is not a luxury or charity; it is the minimum obligation of the state to protect the purchasing power of the elderly from inflation, which it irresponsibly avoids today.
