The Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity announces the start of printing pension coupons with the increase and promises that the money will reach pensioners from January.

On Sunday morning the printing of pension coupons with the 13.8% increase began, according to the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity (MMSS). The money resulting from the increase will be available to pensioners from January, either on bank cards or by postal order.

The draft law approving the ceilings for certain indicators specified in the fiscal-budgetary framework for 2024 provides for a 13.8% increase in pensions from 1 January. This decision was approved by the Government on 9 October 2023 and is part of a broader project on the public pension system. Thus, more than 4.7 million beneficiaries will benefit from the recalculation of pensions according to the new formula, reports Digi24.

Under the new system, from 1 January 2024, the pension point will increase by 13.8%, from 1,785 lei to 2,032 lei. Pensions will also be recalculated according to the new formula from 1 September 2024.

Among the proposed changes, the bill also provides for the gradual equalisation of the retirement age for women and men to 65 by 2035. Parental leave will be considered a contributory period for women and the retirement age will be reduced by six months for each child, to a maximum of 3 years and 6 months. Additional points will also be awarded for contribution periods of more than 25 years, and early and survivors' pensions will be introduced into the new system. Pensions will benefit from annual increases on 1 January, calculated according to the average inflation rate and 50% of the real increase in the average gross wage. Voluntary insurance contracts will allow the purchase of a maximum of six years of seniority. The new law proposes separate categories of pensions, including old-age, disability, early retirement and survivors' pensions.