Details added (first version posted on 16:25)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27
By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:
Azerbaijan will additionally allocate about 200 million manats to finance the increase of pensions and social benefits in the country this year, Azerbaijani Minister of Labor and Social Protection of Population Salim Muslumov told reporters in Baku Feb. 27.
The minister noted that pensions and social benefits of a total of 1.856 million people will be increased in Azerbaijan.
He said that during February, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a total of 13 decrees and orders aimed at increasing pensions and social benefits, which shows the president’s special attention to the social protection of Azerbaijani population.
Muslumov noted that on Feb. 9, Ilham Aliyev signed an order on indexation of the insurance part of pensions in Azerbaijan. The order covered 1.236 million people and 165.4 million manats were additionally allocated for the order’s implementation, Muslumov added.
Last week, the Azerbaijani president signed nine more documents that cover nine categories of persons receiving presidential pensions, Muslumov said.
“As a result, the pension of these categories of persons will be increased by 10 percent from March 1, 2018,” he noted.
“Thus, the pension for the families of martyrs will grow from 220 manats to 242 manats, the pension for the families of servicemen who were killed and went missing while performing international duty as part of the Soviet troops in Afghanistan will grow from 200 manats to 220 manats. The pension for the first group handicaps of war and 20 January events will be increased from 165 manats to 181.5 manats, the pension for the second group invalids of war and 20 January events will be increased from 143 manats to 157.3 manats, and the pension for the third group of invalids of war and 20 January events will grow from 110 manats to 121 manats. This is while the pension of a certain category of persons participated in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 will grow from 110 manats to 121 manats.”
In addition, allowances for invalids of the first group will be increased by 10 percent, the monthly amount of the presidential pension to the National Heroes of Azerbaijan will be increased from 1,300 manats to 1,500 manats, the personal presidential pension will grow from 1,300 manats to 1,450 manats, monthly scholarships for the “People’s” honorary title will be increased from 100 manats to 150 manats, and monthly scholarships for the honorary title “Honored” will grow from 60 manats to 100 manats, Muslumov said.
He added that these nine decrees and orders cover up to 60,000 people, and 9.7 million manats will be allocated from the state budget for their implementation by the end of the year.
The minister also noted that the orders of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev “On increasing the amount of social benefits”, “On increasing the amount of benefits for women with more than five children” and “On increasing the amount of benefits for those on a partially paid social leave to take care of their children” dated Feb. 23, 2018, will affect about 560,000 people.
For the payment of the corresponding increments to the specified social benefits, about 23.2 million manats will be allocated from the state budget by the end of the year, while additional funds worth up to 1.7 million manats will be allocated from the budget of the State Social Protection Fund under the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population, he added.
(1.7001 manats = 1 USD on Feb. 27)