Pensions will not increase for a number of 700,000 pensioners, following the recalculation, as they had an additional benefit until now, when the value of their pensions was higher than that of other pensioners who worked and contributed in the same way, the minister of Labor and Social Solidarity, Simona Bucura-Oprescu, said on Thursday in a press conference.

„After September 1, by increasing the other pensions, we will reach the balance that we wanted and people are asking us for – for equal work and equal contributions to have equal pensions. Among these 700,000 pensioners whose pensions will not increase after recalculation, we have two categories: those with very short contribution periods and those who, under the previous legislation, obtained higher benefits than the corresponding contributions paid during the activity,” Bucura-Oprescu said.

According to her, starting from September 1, 2024, social allowance beneficiaries will continue to receive the minimum guaranteed amount of 1,281 RON, regardless of the amount resulting from the recalculation.

She added that over 90,000 pensioners, beneficiaries of the minimum social pension, will receive more money upon recalculation.

„Through the new Pension Law, we achieved two important objectives: pension reform, i.e. equal pensions for work and equal contributions. In the law, a mechanism was introduced that guarantees the increase of pensions without creating budget imbalances. It is important to know that, also the threshold of 9.4% of GDP was eliminated, which could have led to the freezing of Romanians’ pensions until 2070. On average, the increase will be 26.65%, so we are talking about an increase accumulated by over 40% this year. For most of the pensioners, this means a real and significant increase in purchasing power,” Simona Bucura-Oprescu concluded.

AGERPRES