The pensioners who were born before 1945, retired before 1999 and get a pension lower than 3,000 lei will receive a lump sum payment of 3,000 lei. The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection estimate that over 56,000 older persons will benefit from this payment, IPN reports.

In a news conference, Minister of Labor and Social Protection Alexei Buzu said that the modification of the rules of calculating the pension in time and the absence of historical data about their earnings made so that the pensions of this category of people is much lower even if they worked throughout their life and paid contributions to the budget, being this way wronged.

The minister presented also other measures of support that will be offered to the population during the winter season. Among these is the lump sum of 5,000 lei intended for over 3,000 families with children with severe disabilities. A lump sum of 5,000 lei will be also provided to over 7,000 families with persons with disabilities included in the personal assistance service.

Also, 1,261 pregnant or breastfeeding mothers, with children younger than 13 months, who benefit from social welfare, will get by 5,000 lei. A one-off bonus will be offered to about 9,700 employees of the social assistance system, including professional parent assistants.

The support programs will be implemented with financial support from the development partners – UNFPA, UNICEF, UNHCR, IOM, and WFP.