YEREVAN (Yerkir)–President Robert Kocharian and Labor and Social Affairs Minister Aghvan Vardanian discussed social sector reforms on Tuesday–and announced that their 2005 priorities include reforming the pension system. They proposed the introduction of a mixed system that combines public and private sources to finance pensions.
Vardanian said the two also discussed the introduction of Social Security cards to the country–noting that 2.2 million people have applied–and 1.6 million have already been issued cards.
The Social Security Foundation was also reviewed at the meeting–the minister said–adding that beginning this year–the social security tax will be collected by the Tax Inspectorate.