It is planned to make changes in the pension provision of military personnel in Azerbaijan. At the time of writing this article, within the framework of the bill that passed the third reading of the Milli Majlis, amendments are made to four laws – Law on the Status of Military Servicemen, Law on Approval of the Regulations on Military Service, Law on Labor Pensions, and Law on Military Duty and Military Service.
According to the amendments, the age limit for MAXEs (military personnel serving active military service on the basis of a contract), warrant officers, and michmans in peacetime will be raised from 45 to 48, and the minimum period of service for military retirement is proposed to be increased from 20 calendar years to 25 calendar years. There are also other proposals in the bill.
Fakt Yoxla analyzed the current situation in the legislation related to the provision of pensions for military personnel in Azerbaijan, the provisions to be amended, and also made comparisons with a number of countries regarding the subject.
The Law on Military Duty and Military Service and the Law on Military Service currently set the maximum age limit for enlistment in military service for MAXEs, warrant officers, and michmans at 45 years. The new draft law envisages raising this age limit to 48, i.e. increasing it by 3 years.
According to the Law on Labor Pensions, the following military personnel can receive a labor pension:
- Persons who have served in the military for at least 20 years before discharge;
- Persons who have been discharged from service due to age, have at least 25 years of total work experience, and have spent at least 12 years and 6 months of this experience in military service;
- Persons who have been discharged from military service due to illness or redundancy and are at least 45 years old on the day of discharge, have at least 25 years of total work experience, and have spent at least 12 years and 6 months of this experience in military service;
- Military personnel who participated in the removal of the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl NPP for at least 15 years in the relocation zone.
By the way, these provisions are also included in the Law on the Pension Provision of Military Personnel, which was first adopted in 1992 and repealed in 2006 and has not changed until now. However, the new draft law envisages increasing the service period for retirement from 20 years to 25 years. For those dismissed due to age, illness, or redundancy, 30 years of total work experience will be required instead of 25 years, and 15 years instead of 12.5 years of military service.
At the press conference held in the Milli Majlis regarding the draft law, it was stated that the main goal of increasing the age limit and the length of service is to "use the experience of military personnel more effectively and for a long time." The head of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Defense, Elchin Aliyev, said during the discussion of the draft law that the number of those who want to serve in the Azerbaijan Army has increased, and by increasing the age limit, conditions have been created for their development and service in the army. By the way, MP Gudrat Hasanguliyev said during the discussion of the draft in the first reading that the law limits the social rights of military personnel, and MP Fazil Mustafa said that extending the requirement to 25 years is not a good decision. The law also provides for the increase of the supplement due to length of service at the time of retirement from 50 percent to 65 percent.
When it comes to comparisons with different countries, in Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, and Georgia, servicemen who have served for 20 years also have the right to retire. Among the NATO countries, in France, officers can retire after 27 years of service, non-commissioned officers after 17 years of service (or at age 52), and in the United States and the Czech Republic after 20 years of service. In Turkey, the minimum mandatory service period for officers and junior officers is 15 years.
According to the study of Fakt Yoxla, the minimum service period for servicemen to retire in Azerbaijan has been increased by 5 years, and the age limit for serving has been increased by 3 years. In return, the servicemen's seniority allowance will be 65% instead of 50%. Thus, the minimum period of military service in Azerbaijan will be longer than in post-Soviet countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, and Georgia.
