Value of pension point increases to 826.2 lei

The two specialist commissions of Parliament on Wednesday approved the increase in the value of the pension point from 732.8 lei to 826.2 lei starting on January 1, 2010 despite the arguments offered by the officials of the Ministries of Labour and Public Finance referring to the budget restraints (1 euro=4.16 lei).

The arguments offered by the representatives of the Ministry of Public Finance and by the ones of the Ministry of Labour referred to Romania's international pledges of 'freezing the pensions in nominal figures,' to the country's difficult economic situation, whereas the supporters of the increase in the pension point resorted to sentimental arguments ('if the current pension point stays as it is now, next year we shall have less living pensioners') and suggested freezing the transfer of the contribution to pillar II for the private pensions in order to make up for the budget effort imposed by the above-mentioned amendment.

A heated discussion was generated by the interpretation of the current pension point staying as it is now. Whereas the officials of the Ministries of Finance and Labour maintained that pensions would not be lowered, the deputies and senators said that the real incomes of pensioners would go down by the diminution of the purchasing power.

The deputies and senators on the two commissions added that 'the purchasing power of the 5.7 million pensioners will have a lower purchasing power by 94 lei for every pension point if the amendment is not adopted.'

They mentioned again the solution of the new pension law considering the inflation rate and the economic growth, not the average salary as it is now.

They also debated and adopted the increase in the value of the funeral allowance for the insured person or the pensioner, from 1,836 lei to 3,000 lei, and for the member of the family of the insured person or the pensioner, from 918 lei to 1,500 lei.

They also approved the cut of some contribution shares in order to 'stimulate employers who keep but also create jobs and employ people who have been made redundant

Agerpres