Jobbik criticises Orbán cabinet rejection of men’s early retirement

Conservative opposition Jobbik on Thursday criticised the government for rejecting the party’s proposal for allowing men to retire after 40 years of work, as is the case for women, on Thursday.

If Fidesz rejects Jobbik’s proposal dubbed “Men40”, the main governing party says “no” to the existence of retired men overall, a Jobbik lawmaker said on Thursday, in response to a statement by the state secretary for family affairs.

This policy acts against families, Péter Jakab said, adding that 60 percent of Hungary’s working men pay taxes and social contributions but die before reaching retirement age, namely before getting any old-age pension.

Fidesz wants to spare the cost of paying men a pension, Jakab said, insisting that

his party’s Men40 programme would only need 150-160 billion forints (EUR 463-493m) a year from the state coffers.

According to some sources this amount is just about half of government spending on “overpriced” public procurement projects, he said.

Source: MTI