Pension increase and bonus for Hungarian seniors
After pension increases of 5% in January and 3.9% in July, the third increase for seniors in Hungary will be 4.5% in November. This means the government will increase pensions by a total of 13.4% this year, including the 13th month pension, which was reintroduced this year, it has been reported. Hirado.hu.
The 13th month pension, which was previously abolished by the left-wing government, has been reintroduced by the Fidesz government, and this year the elderly will also receive a pension bonus. The decree to increase pension benefits by 4.5% retroactively from January 1, 2022, and an increase in the total amount from November 1, was published in the newspaper Hungarian Gazette in October.
The increase in pensions was announced by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on the International Day of Older Persons, October 1. In a video posted on his social networking site, he said that
… times are tough all over Europe, but we must not lose sight of our most important national goals, one of which is to ensure that Hungarian pensioners are respected.
According to the Prime Minister, the reinstatement of the 13th month pension for the elderly is a major achievement and a matter of honour. He added that “in difficult times, crisis or no crisis, Hungary will give our pensioners what they deserve”.
The annual increase of 13.4% means that those who received a pension of 150,000 forints (370 euros) last December will have a pension of 170,100 forints (415 euros) from November. This is more than 6,400 forints more than the increase in June, which will be paid retroactively in a single payment to the beneficiaries. This means that in addition to the increased pension of HUF 170,000, older people will still receive a pension supplement of over HUF 64,000 (EUR 155) in November.
This is the fifth time this year that the Hungarian government has paid a pension bonus since 2017.
As Hungarian economic growth is lower due to the economic crisis caused by the sanctions, this is reflected in the amount of the pension bonus, but it is still a budget item of around 25 billion HUF, which means that the retirement bonus will amount to 10,000 HUF per person.
Featured photo via Pixabay
