Socialists: Pensioners won’t be any better off in 2017

Budapest (MTI) – A Socialist lawmaker said on Thursday that pensioners would not be any better off next year because the government planned to slice off spending in areas affecting various pension schemes.

Lajos Korózs, deputy head of parliament’s welfare committee, said 17 billion forints (EUR 55m) less would be spent on benefits for people just about to reach retirement age, 3.5 billion less would be available for the widow’s pension while 2.5 billion would be sliced off the budget for caring for the disabled.

He told a news conference on Thursday that the spending cuts were humiliating given the 1.6 percent hike in pensions which lags behind the central bank’s forecast for inflation.

“The government felt there was a big problem, and that is why just before Christmas it handed out vouchers worth 10,000 forints, which over 12 months is worth 833 forints per month. This is how much the government values pensioners,” Korózs said.