Pensions will be indexed for inflation on January 1, 2023 Romanian PM Nicolae Ciuca announced on Thursday, while on working visit to Dolj County.
The prime minister said that pensioners “do not deserve to bear this burden of inflation on their shoulders.”
“We have discussed the subject and, looking at all inflation data, we can all see that today inflation is exceeding 15%, according to the latest data published by the National Institute of Statistics. Inflation is at 15.9% and I think that pensioners in Romania do not deserve to bear this burden of inflation on their shoulders, which is why we must analyse and do it in such a way as to make sure the pensions are indexed for inflation,” said Ciuca.
While in Brussels for a European Council summit today, President Klaus Iohannis also stated that there should be an increase in pensions that would largely compensate for inflation. “Particular attention is needed for those with small pensions”, the president argued.
“If we talk about the increase in pensions, we have to see the wider context. Pension hikes of 10%, 11% were discussed, but we cannot expect pensioners to pay the price of crises and in the conditions where we have an inflation of over 15%, I think it would be correct to take into account this inflation and the increase then , in my opinion, it must be a higher increase. I don’t know if the budget allows for a 15% increase, but I think that an increase that compensates to a good extent for inflation should come. Greater attention is needed for those with small pensions, because that is where the biggest problems arise”, the president said.
In his view, wages should also increase, arguing that the population should not pay the price of the crisis. “As far as salary increases are concerned, just as pension increases must be correlated with inflation, I believe that salaries must also be reasonably correlated with inflation. If there is no correlation, it means that the population is paying the price of the crisis and this is not correct“, Iohannis added.