Minister ensures that bonuses in pensions do not unbalance public accounts

Nthe inauguration of a new training wing at the Institute of Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP) in Bragança, the governor said that the measure will cover “about 90% of pensioners”, is in “preparation”, but “should have costumes” of 2025, when the government awarded support of 100, 150 and 200 euros for pensions up to 1,611 euros.

“A larger increase for pensions up to an IAS [Indexant of Social Assistance], an intermediate increase for pensions up to two IAS and a slightly smaller increase for pensions up to three IAS, at once, which will be processed with the December pensions,” he explained, adding that it will cost the government “between EUR 350 and 400 million”.

Rosário Palma Ramalho also clarified that these supplements “are not funded by Social Security, are funded by the general budget of the State”.

“This government is a responsible government, and so it has waited until now, waited even longer than it had to wait in previous years, because our budgetary situation this year is not as favourable as that of the other years, for reasons beyond the national dimension. We have a war in Europe and we have also had the issue of storm Kristin and all that has happened and, therefore, we have had to make very extraordinary expenses in these matters and, therefore, we have had to wait a little longer to see budgetary implementation to see whether we had this time off or not, but it is always a day off, it will not unbalance public accounts”, he assured.

The minister also assured that this is not a measure of “political tacticism”, but of confirmation to the government’s motto, of “increasing income, a measure of IRS relief is what it does, and protecting in situations of greater vulnerability, that is what makes the extraordinary pension supplement”.