The mechanism for indexing the pensions was modified and it was taken into account the rate of inflation at the end of last year, not the average inflation for the whole year, as earlier, said Minister of Labor and Social Protection Marcel Spatari. According to the official, the modification of the indexation formula enabled to consistently increase the pensions as the highest inflation was at the end of 2021. Besides the indexation of 13.9%, all the recipients of pensions will benefit from a fixed rise of 171 lei, IPN reports.

The minister noted that the pension indexation coefficient is 13.94%, which is equal to the rate of inflation at the end of 2021. This coefficient will be applied to pensions that do not exceed the official average monthly salary, which is 9,900 lei.

“The inflation rate last yearend was 13.9%. In other words, the prices in December 2021 were by 13.9% higher than in December 2020. The old indexation mechanism was based on the average inflation for a whole year. If we had used that mechanism, the pensions would have been raised by 5.1% as inflation last year was the highest at the end of the year. We took the inflation rate or the last months of the year. On April 1, the pensions lower than 9,900 lei will be increased by 13.9%,” Marcel Spatari stated in the program “Freedom with Dorin Galben” on TV8 channel.

Furthermore, all the pensions on April 1 will be raised by the fixed sum of 171.71 lei based on the mechanisms for transposing the economic growth to pensions.

“These rises cost our budget a lot. The pension fund is by 30% higher than last year,” said the minister.

According to data of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, the Protection of Older Persons section of the state social insurance budget this year totals 21.8 billion lei, as opposed to 16.8 billion lei in 2021.