"Apart from the lump-sum insurance payment, the families of martyrs and disabled war veterans receive an average of 700 AZN a month."
This was stated by MP Mashhur Mammadov.
Fakt Yoxla examined whether the deputy’s claim was true.
According to the SSC, as of the beginning of 2020, there are 15,261 people who have become disabled for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. 3,312 people became disabled during military service. As for the statistics of the same date, 11,904 families of martyrs were registered. If we take into account the 2,841 people who have been assigned the status of the martyr in the Second Karabakh War, this figure is now about 15,000. However, the study will not take into account the Second Karabakh War.
Insurance payments
According to the head of the department of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population, Fazil Talibov, the families of martyrs are paid 11,000 AZN insurance payment. One-time insurance payment is provided in accordance with Article 4 of the Law on State Compulsory Personal Insurance of Military Servicemen. Moreover, according to the decree signed by the President on April 19, 2018, it was decided to pay a lump-sum of 11,000 AZN to the heirs of those who had been martyred or been missing until August 2, 1997.
In January 2019, a new decree was signed due to the fact that the families of about 3,000 martyrs had previously received a low lump-sum payment and other reasons. According to the decree, another 2,725 people were added to the list. 460 of them were employees of law enforcement agencies. A total of 135 million AZN was provided for the heirs of 12,268 martyrs. As of the end of 2019, one-time payments were made to 11,740 martyrs on this list.
The Law on State Compulsory Personal Insurance of Military Servicemen also provides for insurance payments for disabled war veterans. Since 2006, insurance payments to disabled war veterans have been set at 8,800 AZN (80%) for the group I, 6,600 AZN (60%) for the group II, and 4,400 AZN (40%) for the group III. According to a 2016 study by the European Union-backed Center for Economic and Social Development project, until 2006, insurance premiums for war-related disability could not be fully received. Although more than 500 court decisions have been issued in this regard, they have not been implemented. Prior to 2006, insurance premiums for disabled people were not properly indexed.
Social payments to the families of martyrs
Children of martyrs under the age of 16 (those studying in secondary schools under the age of 18) receive social benefits in the amount of 21 AZN per month.
The presidential pension for the families of martyrs is set at 300 AZN (until January 1, 2021).
According to the SSC, as of the beginning of 2020, 11,904 families of martyrs received a presidential pension of 256.19 AZN per capita per month.
Social payments to disabled war veterans
Disabled war veterans are entitled to the following 3 different types of benefits:
According to the Presidential Decree on Increasing the Amount of Social Benefits, children of disabled war veterans under the age of 16 (those studying in secondary schools under the age of 18) are provided with social benefits in the amount of 15 AZN per month;
The presidential pension for disabled war veterans was set at 250, 230, 210 AZN, respectively, by groups (until January 1, 2021);
In accordance with the Decree on Increasing the Amount of Social Benefits, disabled war veterans are paid 150, 130, 110 AZN, respectively, by groups.
If a person with a war-related disability is not entitled to a disability pension, they are only entitled to social benefits in the above amounts. Excluding pensions, the monthly amount of benefits received by disabled war veterans with at least one child was 415, 375, 335 AZN, respectively, by groups (until January 1, 2021).
According to the SSC, as of the beginning of 2020, for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, 15,261 disabled people were awarded presidential pensions at a monthly amount of 228.30 AZN per capita, and 3,312 disabled people were awarded presidential pensions at a monthly amount of 227.75 AZN per capita.
However, according to Article 12.2 of the Law on Labor Pensions, when servicemen are assigned a group 1 disability due to war, a labor pension not less than the minimum pension amount (200 AZN) is assigned regardless of the years of service. Disabled war veterans from other groups (groups 2 and 3) are entitled to a pension only if the pension capital recorded in the insurance part of their personal account before the disability allows them to receive a pension not less than the minimum amount of the labor pension.
Disabled Karabakh war veterans who receive a labor pension are also given a presidential pension of 80 AZN in addition to the labor pension as a participant in the war. In addition, a presidential pension of 100 AZN (from April 1, 2019) is granted to persons suffering from illness during military service and persons becoming group I disabled during military operations.
Although official statistics do not provide separate information on the average amount of pensions paid to persons who have become disabled for the territorial integrity of the country, they provide information on the amount of disability pensions in general. According to the latest information from the SSC, a total of 383,993 disabled people receive pensions. It is known that from October 1, 2019, the minimum pension in the country is 200 AZN, the average amount for disabled people receiving a pension is 229.7 AZN.
Thus, if disabled war veterans receive a minimum pension, the amount of social benefits, including all benefits and pensions, including supplements to labor pensions, is 695, 455, 415 AZN, respectively, by groups. If their pensions correspond to the average disability pension, these amounts amounted to 724.7, 484.7, and 444.7 AZN, respectively, by groups.
Apparently, in the period before the deputy's statement, only the monthly social payments for disabled war veterans of group 1 were around 700 AZN. The amount of monthly social payments for disabled war veterans of group 2 and group 3 was 31% and 36.5% less, respectively, even if they were entitled to a pension.
Fakt Yoxla concludes that the deputy’s claim is false.
Note: According to the latest decrees signed by the President, the amount of the presidential pension for the families of martyrs and the families of the martyrs of January 20 was increased by 66.7% from 300 to 500 AZN.
By the same decree, the amount of the presidential pension for those with war-related disabilities (persons with disabilities related to military service and military service at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant) was increased as follows:
From 250 to 400 AZN for the group I,
From 230 to 350 AZN for the group II,
From 210 to 300 AZN for the group III.
