REPORT NO 125 ARMENIA SOCIAL TRANSITION PROGRAM FINAL REPORT 20 November 2005 ARMENIA SOCIAL TRANSITION PROGRAM FINAL REPORT 2 ARMENIA SOCIAL TRANSITION PROGRAM FINAL REPORT The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. ARMENIA SOCIAL TRANSITION PROGRAM FINAL REPORT 3 CONTENTS ASTP FINAL REPORT: 1. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................ 7 1.1. AN OVERVIEW OF THE ARMENIA SOCIAL TRANSITION PROGRAM..................................................... 7 1.2. IMPACTS OF THE ARMENIAN SOCIAL TRANSITION PROGRAM............................................................ 7 1.3. MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS LINKED TO ASTP ACTIVITIES...................................................................... 8 1.4. PROCESS AND SCOPE OF ASTP ......................................................................................................... 10 1.5. OUTLINE OF THIS REPORT................................................................................................................. 11 ASTP FINAL REPORT: 2. SOCIAL SECURITY CARDS...................................................................... 13 2.1. OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................................ 13 2.2. SYSTEM DESIGN................................................................................................................................14 2.3. CREATING THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK................................................................................................ 15 2.3.1. Laws of the Republic of Armenia............................................................................................. 15 2.3.2. Decrees of the Government of Armenia .................................................................................. 16 2.4. BUILDING THE IT SYSTEMS............................................................................................................... 16 2.4.1. Creating the Nork Information and Analytic Center............................................................... 16 2.4.2. Creating the IT Training Center.............................................................................................. 17 2.4.3. Developing SSC Number Assignment Software....................................................................... 17 2.4.4. Creating Archives for SSC Documents.................................................................................... 17 2.4.5. Providing Computers and Related Equipment to Nork and MLSI .......................................... 18 2.4.6. Maintaining Data Security ...................................................................................................... 18 2.5. TRAINING .......................................................................................................................................... 18 2.5.1. Foreign Study Tours for Government Officials....................................................................... 19 2.6. COORDINATION WITH OTHER DONORS AND LEVERAGING FUNDS................................................... 19 2.7. PUBLIC EDUCATION .......................................................................................................................... 20 2.7.1. Public Education for the Pilot Project .................................................................................... 20 2.7.2. National Rollout ...................................................................................................................... 20 2.8. RESULTS OF THE SSC SYSTEM ......................................................................................................... 22 2.9. SUSTAINABILITY ............................................................................................................................... 23 ASTP FINAL REPORT: 3. PENSION REFORM..................................................................................... 24 3.1. OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................................ 24 3.3. CREATING THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK................................................................................................ 24 3.3.1. Law on State Pensions............................................................................................................. 24 3.3.2. Law to Create Non-State Pension Funds. ............................................................................... 24 3.3.3. Other Normative Acts.............................................................................................................. 25 3.4. BUILDING THE IT INFRASTRUCTURE................................................................................................. 25 3.4.1. Personified Reporting.............................................................................................................. 25 3.4.2. Strengthening IT Capacity in the State Social Insurance Fund and in SIF Regional Offices. 27 3.4.3. PARNAS Use in SSIF headquarters. ....................................................................................... 27 3.4.4. PARNAS-E Use by employers.................................................................................................. 28 3.5. STAFF TRAINING ............................................................................................................................... 28 3.5.1 Computer Use Training for SSIF and SIF Local Offices ........................................................ 28 3.5.2 Other Skills Training for SSIF and SIF Local Offices............................................................. 28 4.5.3 Three Observational Study Tours............................................................................................ 28 3.6. COORDINATION WITH OTHER DONORS AND LEVERAGING FUNDS................................................... 29 3.7. PUBLIC EDUCATION .......................................................................................................................... 29 3.7.1. Public Education before Passage of the Law.......................................................................... 29 3.7.2. Chart of Publications on the New Pension system .................................................................. 29 3.7.3. List of Seminars and workshops on new Pension System........................................................ 30 3.8. THE RESULTS .................................................................................................................................... 30 3.9. SUSTAINABILITY ............................................................................................................................... 31 ARMENIA SOCIAL TRANSITION PROGRAM FINAL REPORT 4 ASTP FINAL REPORT: 4. TARGETING SOCIAL BENEFITS ............................................................ 33 4.1. OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................................ 33 4.2. SYSTEM DESIGN................................................................................................................................34 4.3. CREATING THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK................................................................................................ 34 4.4. BUILDING THE IT SYSTEMS............................................................................................................... 34 4.4.1. Transferring the Poverty Family Benefits Caseload to the Nork Information and Analytic Center.............................................................................................................................. 35 4.4.2. Designing and Implementing a “Complaints Database” for MLSI ........................................ 35 4.5. STAFF TRAINING ............................................................................................................................... 36 4.6. COORDINATION WITH OTHER DONORS AND LEVERAGING FUNDS................................................... 37 4.7. PUBLIC EDUCATION .......................................................................................................................... 37 4.8. THE RESULTS .................................................................................................................................... 40 4.9. SUSTAINABILITY ............................................................................................................................... 41 ASTP FINAL REPORT: 5. STRENGTHENING SOCIAL STATISTICS ............................................. 42 5.1. OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................................ 42 5.2. BUILDING THE LEGAL FOUNDATION ................................................................................................ 42 5.3. BUILDING THE IT SYSTEMS............................................................................................................... 42 5.4. STAFF TRAINING .............................................................................................................................. 43 5.4.1. Basic Computer literacy .......................................................................................................... 43 5.4.2. Training in Statistical Techniques..........................................................................................