World Day of Older Persons in Hungary

The government provides for elderly citizens by raising the value of pensions, paying pension premiums and supplements as well as offering women the option to retire early with 40 years’ employment, a state secretary of the human resources ministry told a press conference on Sunday.

The Orbán government has vowed to preserve the buying power of pensions, Katalin Novák noted. The government has surpassed its own promise, she said, arguing that the buying power of pensions had grown by 23 percent since 2010.

Legislation ensures that pensions are supplemented if inflation exceeds expectations, Novák said. The government has also pledged to have pensioners partake of national growth by paying a “pension premium” if economic growth surpasses 3.5 percent. Both supplements are expected to be due this year, Novák said.

Speaking of the option for women to retire after 40 years’ employment instead of at a set age, Novák said

the measure was “primarily a family policy supporting grandmothers who want to be with their grandchildren”.

Over 200,000 women have opted for earlier retirement, she said.

The prime minister’s commissioner for strategic social relations, Zsolt Nyitrai, said that the government has taken “several measures making the lives of the elderly easier” since 2010. Nyitrai cited the government’s scheme to cut public utility bills, the VAT cuts on basic food products and the Erzsébet programme offering cheap vacations as examples.

Socialists

Speaking at a separate news conference marking the UN’s Day of Older Persons, Socialist MP Lajos Korozs said his party proposes a uniform 120,000 forint (EUR 384) 13th month pension. Nearly two-thirds of pensions are currently below this mark, Korozs noted.