Many of the nearly five million pensioners in Romania are among the
poorest citizens of the European Union. The average monthly pension in Romania
stands at approximately 400 EUR, according to the National Statistics Institute.
2024 will see no less than four rounds of election in Romania – European Parliament
elections, local, parliamentary and presidential elections. The coalition
government chose to implement social measures to boost their approval ratings
by significantly increasing the revenues of pensioners before they hit the
polls, the media writes. Enjoying a large majority in the Senate, the Social-Democrats
and the Liberals on Tuesday fast-tracked the voting the new pension law. Under
the new law, pensioners’ revenues will increase in two phases next year. Starting
January 1, 2024, all pensions in the public system will go up 13.8% to cover
the rampant inflation. Then, on September 1, pensions will be recalculated
according to a new formula, which Labor Minister Simona Bucura-Oprescu says
will level out all inequities between Romanians who had similar jobs but retired
at different periods of time, as well as between women and men.
Social-Democrat
Senator Lucian Romașcanu hailed this correction, saying you cannot have the
same contribution for the same profession, but have different pensions. In
turn, the leader of the Liberal group in the Senate, Daniel Fenechiu, admitted that,
although the law is flawed, it is a step forward. UDMR in opposition voted in
favor of the document, hailing the introduction of pension recalculations. Also
in the opposition, USR and AUR Senators abstained, criticizing the government
of failing to identify the funds to sustain the significant increase in
pensions. The leader of AUR Senators, Claudiu Târziu, said we didn’t vote
against the law, because a pension increase is better than nothing. The impact
of this law will account for 3% of the GDP, much higher than originally expected,
the Liberals said last week. Finance Minister Marcel Boloș
said increasing pensions is a priority, but also a responsibility for the
government, which must ensure the financial stability of the country. The law
will next be submitted to the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body.
The ruling coalition is expected to vote the new law just as fast, pundits say.
Finally, the law will be submitted by president Klaus Iohannis, who will only
ratify it upon his return from his tour of Africa. (VP)