Orbán cabinet mulling boosting pensions mid-year due to pandemic

The government is considering bumping up pensions in the middle of the year in light of the situation caused by the pandemic, a finance ministry official has said.

Inflation is now 3.6 percent instead of the planned 3 percent, so a supplementary increase of 0.6 percent may appear in the budget law amendment, András Tállai, parliamentary state secretary, told Tuesday’s edition of the daily Magyar Nemzet.

The hike would cost the budget 26 billion forints (EUR 71.5m).

Another hike may be introduced in November, depending on the course of inflation, Tallai added.

The extra money in retirees’ pockets would amount to 10,000 forints (EUR 27) a year on average.

He noted that pensions rose by 3 percent at the start of the year and the phased revival of the 13-month pension is under way.

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Source: MTI