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Retirees could improve by up to 1,200 crowns

The law always stipulates the valorisation of pensions from January, on the rise in prices and on the rise in real wages for a specified period. The Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the CSSD Jan Hamáček and the Minister of Labor Jana Maláčová (also the CSSD) want to add another three to four hundred crowns. In total, pensioners could improve on average by about 1,200 crowns.

“We will fight for pensions to increase again by a decent amount. And we can discuss whether it will be three or four hundred a month beyond the legal valorisation as last year, or a one-time surcharge in the order of thousands per year as for (Prime Minister Bohuslav) Sobotka, “said Hamáček and Maláčová in a commentary for Právo.

Grandma for a thousand, but she follows the budget

The prime minister and head of the ANO movement, Andrej Babiš Práva, told the law the week before last that he would add more legal value to pensioners by symbolically rounding it to an average of CZK 900 more.

Over the weekend, however, the Prime Minister admitted on Czech Television that the increase in pensions could be even more significant.

“Of course, I would like to increase pensions by a thousand. But the question is, what options will we have, we have to look at the budget in general, “Babiš said.

Pirates only for legal valorization

A specific proposal is to be prepared by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. Already last week, Maláčová wrote on her Facebook profile that she would consider the average increase in pensions by CZK 900 to be low, also in view of the aid distributed due to the effects of the coronary crisis to other groups of the population.

“We have all suffered from coronavirus, the food has become incredibly expensive and seniors are and will be the most vulnerable. We just have to add much more to their pensions, “said Maláčová.

For example, fruit cost significantly more than a year ago in June, rising by 27.2 percent. Sugar rose by almost 16 percent year on year and flour by almost 13 percent. Pork and sausages also rose by more than a tenth year-on-year.

The Communists, whose votes the cabinet in the Chamber of Deputies usually relies on, also agree with a higher addition to pensioners. “It is important that pensions are valorised beyond the mandatory statutory valorisation. This will be the subject of negotiations on the draft state budget, “said KSČM deputy Jiří Dolejš.

For example, the ODS or pirates point out a record state budget deficit and would be more in favor of legal valorisation, which will require about 32 billion crowns. “Only the legal valorisation should be applied.

We do not think that it is reasonable to make a special law in addition to this, which would increase the state debt, “said pirate MP Mikuláš Ferjenčík on Czech Television.

The average pension is 14,427 crowns

According to ODS chairman Petr Fiala, given the uncertain budget outlook, this is still a somewhat premature debate. The government coalition should agree on the growth of the average income in January this month, after it will have new figures on the decline of the Czech economy.

To increase pensions beyond the statutory valorisation, he would have to go to the Chamber of Deputies with a proposal to amend the legislation.

This year, the state will send over 507 billion crowns into pensions. As of January a year earlier, pensions have risen by an average of CZK 900 since January this year. At the same time, the government again helped with a one-off change in the law; according to the statutory valorisation, the average increase would reach only CZK 749. However, each pensioner was paid a pension of 151 crowns.

The average pension was 14,427 crowns at the end of this year’s first half of the year. Next year, even according to what the government has promised before, it should jump over the 15,000 mark. The latest proposals of the CSSD could then bring the average pension closer to 16,000.

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