One million Romanian retirees get a monthly pension of less than 200 euros while 300,000 receive less than 100 euros a month, the government said.
The Social Democrats, one of the two main parties in the ruling coalition, want to raise pensions by at least 15% to keep pace with soaring inflation which is currently about 15%.
Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca, who heads the Liberal Party, told party members that he proposes an increase of 6.2% to match the inflation rate of 2021, according to Digi24. Under his plan, however, there would be additional money for retirees whose monthly pension is less than 3,000 lei (about 600 euros).
Two-thirds of Romania’s pensioners have pensions of less than 2,000 lei (400 euros), according to statistics.
Some 1.9 million Romanians receive pensions between 1,000 and 2,000 lei.
Some 100,000 pensioners get between 4,000 and 5,000 lei, with 90,000 receiving more than 5,000 lei.
The coalition has not reached an agreement on how to raise pensions.
Romania’s biggest trade union demands ‘urgent’ salary and pension hikes
