Labour minister: Pensions to rise by 5.2-5.3% next year

Pensions will increase by 5.2- 5.3% in 2017, Labour minister Dragos Pislaru announced in a press conference on Friday, adding the rise will be granted based on a law under way.

“The pensions will rise by 5.2- 5.3 percent next year… This Government will put into force this rise in a normative act under way based on the active legislation,” said the Labour minister.

The minister mentioned that for now any ‘insinuation’ regarding the way the pensions policy will evolve is pure speculation, as the budget will be adopted by the future Government and Parliament.

“As this year we had a rise in the pension allowance for the social categories, so we’ll probably see next year, if the economy allows, an economic growth transmuted in the people’s pockets. This Government cannot make promises for next year for it’s totally far-out. First, we’ll advance a preliminary draft budget, but the next Gov’t and Parliament will adopt it. Any insinuation related on how the pensions policy will evolve is pure speculation,” the Labour minister pointed out.

The value of the pension point was RON 871.7 on January 1, 2016. The value of the pensions point is set by law on an annual basis. It can rise annually by 100% out of the annual inflation rate, to which 50% of the real increase of the average gross salary is added.