NEWS RELEASE – 24.05.2022
According to the Foundation for the Defense of Citizens Against State Abuses (FACIAS), Romania's PNRR measures affecting the public pension system, specifically the long-term maintenance of a cap of 9.4 % of GDP, will lead to Romanians being unable to assure their daily life expenses from pension.
Pension expenditures in other European countries averages 13% of GDP. In theory, keeping expenses below the cap will be accomplished by providing incentives to postpone retirement, but in practice, there is a real possibility that the retirement age will increase to 70, a much higher age threshold compared to the European average, correlated with Romanians' life expectancy.
Today's economic data clearly reveal that the reality is far worse than those who negotiated the PNRR predicted, and that the foundations upon which it was based are entirely incorrect.
The condition of retirees is critical at the moment, with their incomes being severely impacted by the rapid rise in inflation. As a result, seniors are becoming poorer by the day, therefore a 15% increase in pensions is absolutely necessary, taking into account the development of inflation, to which is added half of the percentage of economic growth forecasted by the government last year.
The project's specialists' analyses within the project regarding the monitoring of the implementation of the actions assumed in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) provided the following conclusions.
Regarding the other types of pensions, PNRR Romania has expected that no new types will be introduced, and that existing special pensions will be rationalized.
It is vital to highlight that no special pension will exceed the income earned during the period of activity or contribution. Ad hoc pension increases are totally prohibited by the PNRR.