Pensions increase for alpine areas residents

From September 1, people living in Georgia’s mountainous areas will receive 20% increased pensions and social assistances which is equal to 216 GEL instead of 180 GEL.

The change is the part of the Government’s policy which aims to make mountainous regions more attractive for the population, as the areas are being gradually emptied of permanent residents.

The number of those who will enjoy the increased pensions and the social support reaches 52,000.

In July 2015, the Parliament of Georgia adopted a new law on the development of Georgia’s mountain regions, which came into force on January 1 2016.

With this law, populations of mountainous areas will enjoy greater benefits, promised the Government.

A part of the law came into effect yesterday while the rest of the law will come into play on January 1 2017.

From September 1, the rural populations will enjoy the following benefits:

Doctors will receive a supplemental salary twice as high as the state pension, while nurses will receive a supplemental salary that matches the state pension;

Mountain area residents will enjoy 20 percent higher pensions and social assistance;

The Government will partially fund heating costs during the winter months;

Teachers will enjoy a supplemental salary as high as at least 35 percent of their original salary;

Teachers who participate in programmes initiated by the Ministry of Education will see their salary increased by 50 percent.

All of these changes will be implemented gradually until 2017.

It is very important how the Government manages to fulfil all of its stated intentions. The projects targeting the regions’ youth are of the utmost importance, as generally they leave the regions due to unemployment and fewer prospects.

The Government should also make local entrepreneurship more attractive for locals for them to have permanent incomes.

If there is no genuine changes in this regard, Tbilisi and some other big cities will soon be overcrowded, and the regions’ population will decrease to the extent that the state’s economy and advancement could be affected.