Baku, 4 May 2009 - The results of the reforms in Azerbaijan’s pension system in recent years were the focus of the presentation of the State Social Protection Fund’s (SSPF) Management Information System (MIS) on May 4th 2009. With support from UNDP, the government has significantly reformed and improved the governance of Azerbaijan’s pension system since 2001. “When UNDP heard of the plans of the Government to bring Azerbaijan’s pension system into 21st century in matter of a few years, we were extremely enthusiastic for this project”, said UNDP Resident Representative Bruno Pouezat speaking at the media event in the SSPF.

Created within the joint project of SSPF and UNDP “Capacity Building for the State Social Protection Fund (SSPF) of the Republic of Azerbaijan” the automated database on the country’s pension and social security system is a major component of the 11 million dollar project. It has enabled the Fund to move from a paper-based system to an electronic one, ensuring accuracy and immediate accessibility of records.  The data base has extended coverage to over 1.8 million employed workers, 300,000 employers, and 1.3 million pensioners. According to SSPF Chairman Mr. Salim Muslimov, pension fund revenues and payments for beneficiaries likewise skyrocketed during this period, growing at rates well above Azerbaijan’s very high GDP growth. This sharp increase in pension benefits paid out played an important role in reducing poverty in Azerbaijan, particularly among the elderly. Over 80 percent of pension transactions are now made online via ATMs and VISA payment cards. Most business processes in the head and branch offices have been fully automated, producing significant improvements in data accuracy and systemic transparency and eliminating many bureaucratic procedures. 

According to Mr. Muslumov, he recently had a chance to present the achievements of the joint project with UNDP and, in general, the success of pension reform in Azerbaijan at a UNDP-organized Development and Transition Governance Forum in Athens, Greece on 31 March 2009 in which senior  officials of the Greek Government and representatives of several countries of the region participated. The invitation to Mr. Muslumov came from organizers of the Forum after Mr Muslimov’s article on the successes and challenges of Azerbaijan’s pension reforms was published in a special governance issue of the Development and Transition bulletin, a joint product of UNDP and the London School of Economics & Political Science. 

“UNDP does not provide funding so much as UNDP helps countries identify expertise that is relevant to their own needs. Indeed, Azerbaijan did not need funding but examples from other countries that had undergone the same reforms a few years earlier. If a few years ago Azerbaijan  was looking up to the experience of the Baltic states we find extremely encouraging  that today Azerbaijan is prepared to become an example for other countries. I want to give credit to the Government of Azerbaijan for setting this ambitious reform programme and to the leadership of Muslimov for implementing the programme with effectiveness, stressed Mr. Pouezat.

Also within the framework of the project, more than 70 of the SSPF’s branch offices have been reorganized and equipped with modern computer systems and local area networks. The Fund’s Central Archive and the Training Center were also refurbished and equipped. The Central Archive has been equipped with the state-of-the-art technology, minimizing the space consumption and maximizing the volume of the documentation kept. The Training Center of SSPF has also been equipped with the latest computer technology, and will serve as the training hub for the SSPF local branches’ employees, as well as for the staff of the Fund’s Central Office.

The project aimed at modernizing the country’s pension system by introducing a new Management Information System based on information and communication technologies and a personal account system for calculation of pensions is currently in its final phase. It focuses on the establishment of prompt communication between the Fund’s central headquarters and regional branches through the installation of MIS in all the offices of SSPF throughout Azerbaijan.  “The only pending but important element to be put in place within the project  is to make available all the pension and social security data to the end users – pensioners and social security tax payers, thus removing physical contact between them and the Fund’s staff  . This will make the system fully democratic, promised Mr.Muslumov.

For more information contact:

Mr. Oktay Ibrahimov
National Project Manager
Tel: 434-65 -90