Pensions of Thousands of Retirees Paid One Day Before the New Year

One day before the end of the year 1394 (March 2016), the pensions of over 1.2 million retirees from the Iranian pension fund were finally paid. The IRIB news agency reported on Thursday evening, March 17, citing Ali Rabiei, the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, that the pensions for all government retirees for the month of Esfand have now been deposited and are available for withdrawal starting Friday morning, March 18. Fars news agency also confirmed this news on Friday morning, stating that the pensions for 1.26 million retirees from the national pension fund have been paid. According to a knowledgeable source, the reason for the delay in pension payments was a "3 trillion tomans budget deficit." Previously, Ali Rabiei had reported on the order of Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, to resolve the issue of pension payments. He stated that following Mr. Rouhani's order, a special committee was formed with the presence of the Minister of Economy and the head of the Management and Planning Organization to explore necessary solutions to address the existing deficit. Rabiei also referred to the year 1394 as "the hardest economic year for the government" and mentioned that despite these difficulties, the government had planned to pay bonuses to retirees and the subsidies for Esfand as well. In the last months of 1394, Iran witnessed the lifting of international sanctions that had been imposed against its nuclear program. Hassan Rouhani, considering this event, promised that 1395 would be a better economic year for Iran.