Higher pensions in Romania
In Romania, 82% of the pensions have been increased, and the Romanian Post Office has started distributing the recalculation decisions. The new pension law enters into force on September 1.
Mihai Pelin, 19.08.2024, 14:00
More than half a million pension recalculation decisions were handed by the postmen to the beneficiaries, on Friday, on the first day of their distribution. The Romanian Post is the only courier and postal services company in Romania that reaches all corners of the country, being the main provider of postal services at the national level. If the beneficiary of the decision is not at home, the document can be handed to a family member or a relative, or it can be picked up, later, from the post office. However, most of the pensioners were at home, anxiously awaiting the decisions, hoping that they will be among those who will receive more money. The postman made most of them happy, but there are also quite a few pensioners who did not receive any increase. More than 3.8 million pensions out of the total of almost 4.6 million were increased as a result of the recalculation, and the average increase is 622 lei (approx. 125 Euros), says the Minister of Labor and Social Solidarity, Simona Bucura-Oprescu. She also announced when the recalculated pensions will reach the beneficiaries.
Simona Bucura-Oprescu: “On August 26, the first installment will start being transferred to the Romanian Post, and on September 2, the money will be delivered by the postal workers to the pensioners. On September 12, the money will be transferred for those who receive their money on a bank card. As of September 2, the postal agents will hand both the new pension coupons and the recalculated pensions for those who receive their money through the Romanian Post. Also, from September 1 to March 1, the process of capitalizing the rights from non-permanent incomes prior to 2001 will be unfolding, based on certificates from employers.” Said the labor minister Simona Bucura-Oprescu adding that ‘No pension is reduced’.
The increases are from 1% to 100% depending on the professional record of each pensioner, the contributions they had throughout their working life and depending on the year of retirement, stated, in turn, the president of the National Pensions House, Daniel Baciu. He pointed out that, in the coming years, no pension in Romania will be “frozen”, as there is an index-linked pension mechanism stipulated in the new law that provides for increases in line with the inflation rate. Following the new recalculation decisions, people who have worked over 40 years and who have not benefited from the correction index in recent years will have substantial increases.
Most pensions, approximately 3 million, will be increased by amounts between 1 lei and 1,000 lei (approx. 200 Euros). There will also be pensions – almost 8,000 – which will increase by more than 3,000 lei, as well as approximately 800,000 pensioners who will not receive any increase. If pensioners need clarifications about the recalculation decision, they can request details from the territorial pension houses. The authorities say that they can request verification and revision of the pension file, and then a new decision can be issued, without going to court. (LS)
