{"id":70563,"date":"2014-02-21T16:58:22","date_gmt":"2014-02-21T12:58:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/?p=70563"},"modified":"2014-02-21T16:58:22","modified_gmt":"2014-02-21T12:58:22","slug":"u-s-ambassador-john-hefferns-speech-for-the-third-annual-pension-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/en\/?p=70563","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Ambassador John Heffern\u2019s Speech for the  Third Annual Pension Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/\u054b\u0578\u0576-\u0540\u0565\u0586\u0565\u0580\u0576.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-70560\" alt=\"\u054b\u0578\u0576 \u0540\u0565\u0586\u0565\u0580\u0576\" src=\"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/\u054b\u0578\u0576-\u0540\u0565\u0586\u0565\u0580\u0576.jpg\" width=\"259\" height=\"194\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">Good Morning Mr. Prime Minister and distinguished guests. It is my pleasure to be here today to participate in the <b>Third Annual Pension Conference.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The United States values its relationship with the Government and people of Armenia.\u00a0 We are doing whatever we can to assist in the development of the country\u2019s economic, social, and democratic systems and institutions.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>For 13 years, the United States has worked with local partners to reform Armenia\u2019s social protection system, with a focus on <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">pensions<\/span>.\u00a0 We have worked with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs to build sustainable models of<\/p>\n<p>social services delivery and to implement broad-scale social reforms.<\/p>\n<p>Why is pension reform so important?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It is important because it affects each and every citizen.<\/li>\n<li>It is important because Armenia must find a way to provide pensioners more economic security.<\/li>\n<li>Pension reform is important because the structure of employment and Armenia\u2019s demography have changed. The pension system must change too.<\/li>\n<li>Finally, it is important because the new pension system will give workers the option to shape their pension and contribute to their own retirement savings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Pension reform is one of the more challenging reforms that any country faces. This is why Armenia has engaged international experts and spent more than ten years carefully selecting and developing a new pension system, \u00a0tailored to Armenia\u2019s demographic and economic needs.<\/p>\n<p>Pension reform is controversial. It involves <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">long-term<\/span> planning by governments, employers and workers, already faced with numerous <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">short-term<\/span> pressures.<\/p>\n<p>So what is this new system? The new pension system will:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Provide a safe and adequate pension to pensioners \u2013 this is the fundamental point; (repeat)<\/li>\n<li>Bring workers\u2019 salary payments out of the shadow economy;<\/li>\n<li>Streamline tax administration and reduce corruption risks;<\/li>\n<li>Boost economic development by effectively investing the pension contributions.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>We all know that i<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">mplementation<\/span> of the reforms will become the true test of their <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">success<\/span>. Moving forward, a number of issues are critical:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Broad public awareness<\/span> is essential. As recent developments show, people do not understand even <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">basic<\/span> questions about this reform. Armenians are asking their government: Why is this reform necessary? \u00a0What does this reform do? How will it benefit the employee and future pensioner? How will it affect current pensioners?<\/li>\n<li>The government, working with civil society and the media, should educate and explain the reforms \u2013 not just once or twice, but over and over. Public trust would be enhanced if citizens on all sides of the issue have the chance to provide input as part of the Government\u2019s public education efforts. An accurate, inclusive, transparent and comprehensive awareness campaign enhances trust towards reforms and contributes to their eventual success.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Financial literacy<\/span> is another key. Workers and future pensioners need to understand how their future pensions are shaped.\u00a0 Only then can they make informed choices among the investment options for their contributions.<\/li>\n<li>Important factors for the successful implementation of pension reform include: sound investment policies to develop Armenia\u2019s economy; prudent regulations to enhance public confidence in the pension industry and to protect the interests of pension fund participants; and maximum transparency and accuracy of reporting by all.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We applaud the Government of Armenia for building the foundation for this new system. It now needs to provide <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">more <\/span>information on how the new system will ensure the safety, efficiency, and impartiality of pension contributions for all Armenians.<\/p>\n<p>Employers have some responsibility too.\u00a0 They must embrace good corporate governance principles in order to reduce the shadow economy. The days of underreporting earnings, profits, workers\u2019 salaries and social payments to avoid taxes must come to an end.<\/p>\n<p>We believe that the new pension system is prudently designed to protect the interests of future pensioners. It <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">will<\/span> provide Armenian workers with the opportunity to improve their financial security in retirement by diversifying their sources of income, including saving for retirement in a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">private<\/span> \u2013 private &#8212;\u00a0 pension fund.<\/p>\n<p>Let me add an important point here, which does not seem to be well known among the Armenian public.\u00a0 Under this reform, the pension funds will be managed privately by two highly respected international funds managers \u2013 one French and the other German\/Austrian with long track records of success.<\/p>\n<p>Again, there is no denying that pension reform is controversial.\u00a0 Every week there are groups of citizens voicing their concern over this new policy.\u00a0 The Constitutional Court is looking at some specific aspects of the law.\u00a0 This unease with the reform should <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">not<\/span> be surprising since it is a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">fundamental<\/span> change to a system that has been in place for years.<\/p>\n<p>We must also recognize that many Armenians lost their long-promised pensions when the Soviet Union collapsed.\u00a0 That memory is still fresh.\u00a0 In addition, there is a lack of trust among the government, Armenia\u2019s institutions and the citizenry.\u00a0 The government should work to close this gap in trust by seriously engaging its citizens, correcting any misunderstandings, listening to their concerns and working to address them.<\/p>\n<p>This pension reform is the culmination of a ten-year reform effort by the government in close cooperation with international donors and experts.\u00a0 It is a model used successfully around the world with numerous safeguards designed to protect individuals\u2019 savings and contributions.\u00a0 The reality is that the current system in Armenia is not sustainable.\u00a0 Change &#8211; though difficult &#8211; is necessary.<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, I want to express our continued support for the successful implementation of this pension reform and our belief that the Government of Armenia, employers and workers will be able to implement these reforms for the long term benefit of all.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you!\u00a0 Best wishes for a productive conference.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/\">\u00a0\u0531\u0576\u056f\u0561\u056d<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Good Morning Mr. Prime Minister and distinguished guests. It is my pleasure to be here&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":70560,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[110,224,116],"tags":[7298,7299],"class_list":["post-70563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-armenia","category-news","category-conomics","tag-john-heffern","tag-third-annual-pension-conference","post_format-post-format-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=70563"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70563\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/70560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=70563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=70563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=70563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}