(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 20.​ Five major social reform packages have been implemented in Azerbaijan, covering four million citizens, with an annual extra financial allocation of 7.6 billion manat ($4.5 billion), Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population Anar Aliyev said during discussion of the draft laws "On the 2026 budget of the State Social Protection Fund" and "On the 2026 budget of the Unemployment Insurance Fund" at today's plenary session of the parliament, Trend reports.

The minister noted that under the fifth social reform package, the minimum wage was increased by 16 percent to 400 manat ($236) from January 1, and the minimum pension was raised by 14.3 percent to 320 manat ($189) from February 1. On July 1, social benefits, presidential pensions, and honorary title pensions were increased, followed by student scholarships on September 1. Monthly salaries of military personnel were also increased by an average of 10 percent from January 1.

"Overall, the fifth social reform package covers 1.9 million citizens and carries an annual extra financial burden of 885 million manat ($522 million). Together with the 8.1 percent indexing of labor pensions at the start of the year, the total annual extra financial burden reaches 1.4 billion manat ($826 million).

As a result of these reforms, pension payments this year increased by 10 percent compared to last year, the average pension rose nine percent to 540 manat ($318), and the average age-based pension also increased by nine percent to 576 manat ($339).

Expenditures on state-funded social benefits and presidential pensions increased by more than 12 percent compared to the same months of last year when the increases were applied," Aliyev emphasized.

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