Moldovan cabinet rules to carry out second stage of pensions'increase in advance

Chisinau, 11 October /MOLDPRES/ – The Cabinet of Ministers approved implementation in advance of the next step of increasing old – age and disability pensions, today.  As such, pensions will be valued from 01 November 2017 rather than 01 April 2018, as previously established. The pension will benefit about 65, 000 persons, who retired in 2009, 2010 and 2011, the government's communication and protocol department has reported.

At the beginning of the Government’s meeting, Prime Minister Pavel Filip pointed out that those were the first fruits of pension reform: "As we said many times, we make real plans, we do not come with promises that do not have financial coverage. When things go better than we planned, then we come up with these increases ahead of schedule." Similarly, the Prime Minister expressed his confidence that if the upward rhythm of the budget proceeds would be maintained, other increases would be also made in advance.

The increase of the pensions, as a result of the valorization, will be differentiated according to the year of its establishment and the income realized by the person. Thus, for the 58,479 old – age pension beneficiaries, the benefit will increase on average by MDL 255, which represents an increase of 17.6 per cent above the average pension. Also, for the 6,399 beneficiaries of disability pensions, the increase will amount to an average of MDL 274, by 28.6 per cent more compared to their average pension.

The necessary expenditures for the project are estimated at MDL 33.6 million, resources identified as a result of the increase of the own revenues to the state social insurance budget for 2017.

We remind that the gradual valorisation of pensions is foreseen by the reform of the pension system, adopted in late 2016. In the first stage, being implemented since 01 April 2017, the pensions set in 2001 – 2008 for 68,014 pension beneficiaries for old – age and 15,570 beneficiaries of disability pensions. As a result, the average age of the old – age pension increased by an average of MDL 132 and the average disability pension by MDL 226.