Health Minister announces loans for pensioners with “significantly improved conditions”
The Minister said new terms would ensure cheaper loans for pensioners after announcing Liberty Bank had won the new tender. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
Tweet 
Share
Georgian Health Minister Zurab Azarashvili on Monday announced the conclusion of a state tender aimed at improving loan terms for pensioners in the country, revealing “significantly improved conditions” for the senior citizens would follow the move.
The Ministry of Health cited the Minister on saying new terms would ensure cheaper loans for pensioners after announcing Liberty Bank had won the new tender.
The same bank, Liberty Bank, which has been serving pensioners for years, won the tender [for the next seven years]. This is important because they have the relevant experience and infrastructure,” Azarashvili said.
The most important thing here is that the loans that are issued to retirees will be tied to the refinancing rate and will be a maximum of +15 percent, which as of today is already 25.8 percent instead of the 30.6 percent," the Minister noted.
He also highlighted an expectation of a decrease in the refinancing rate, with the anticipated dynamic "significantly" reducing the refinancing rate on loans taken by the pensioners.
The role of the Pension Fund in the development of the economy, importance of long-term investment sources and legislative initiatives for the Fund were in the focus of a meeting between Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and members of the Pension Fund Investment Board on Tuesday.
The Interagency Commission for Determining the Terms of Banking Services has ruled on establishing a 26 percent upper limit for loan payments backed by pensions, which may be further reduced in the future based on inflation in Georgia.
The net asset value of the pension fund in Georgia equals 2.23 billion GEL ($724mln/€664mln), the Pension Agency of Georgia has said in its March 2022 report.
People over 70 years of age will receive an increased pension starting January 1, 2022, with monthly pensions increasing by 20 GEL to 260 gel, while pensioners over 70 will receive an increased pension of 300 GEL, up 25 GEL.
Individuals’ access to their pension information has been restored across Georgia following a brief unavailability of services earlier on Monday due to a system update, the Pension Agency of Georgia said.
The pension agency of Georgia has estimated the net asset value of the country’s pension fund at ₾2.78 billion ($1.03bln) in its latest report, with the update also showing the fund’s net return between 2019 and November 2022 at 38.8 percent ($145mln).
The upper limit for interest rates on pension-backed loan payments is decreasing across Georgia following a campaign by the Citizens political party.