State help before the holidays! The money reaches the accounts of certain groups of citizens

Counter, Photo: Hello! / Dejan Briza

At the end of November, it is most likely that the one-time financial aid will not be paid to pensioners because a decision has not yet been made on the amount of the so-called “bonus”, as well as how this money should be in the accounts for about 1.7 million senior citizens.

In other words, a model is being sought for the realization of the state’s intention to also help the elderly this year. President Aleksandar Vučić recently announced that he was discussing with the prime minister and the finance minister the possibility of “surprising someone else, our retirees, with a small gift.”

Although the president did not specify when older citizens could expect that surprise, he noted that Serbia does not have any liquidity problems and announced an increase in the salaries of health workers and public sector employees, as well as possible additional allocations for the older.

It turns out that this is exactly the part that the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Labor should consider.

– The amount of the one-time aid is being analyzed, but also the payment method, that is, if it will go with the pension check or if the money will go separately. In any case, this year they won’t give up the practice that was introduced in 2016 either, and retirees will likely get their gift for the new year, the Finance Ministry says.

In previous years, pensioners received one-time assistance, mainly before the New Year holidays. For example, in 2019, on November 4, the payment of a one-off aid of 5,000 dinars began, and on that occasion 85 million euros were allocated from the budget for a total of 1.7 million pensioners.

During 2016 and 2017, the one-time support to pensioners was also paid on the eve of the New Year holidays, and then each pensioner received 5,000 dinars. Older people also received financial assistance of 3,000 dinars in December 2018, and that year the government increased pensions in the range of 5 to 22.5 percent.

Pensioners received a pension increase both last year and this year, with a 5.9 percent increase announced for 2021, according to the so-called Swiss formula. After the increase according to that formula, the average pension will be increased from the current 27,769 dinars to 29,407 dinars, or 1,638 dinars.

Practically, from 2021, pensioners with the lowest income, which is 10,000 dinars, will have an increase of about 600 more dinars, while those with the highest income (above 100,000) will have an increase of at least 6,300 dinars .

Pensions will grow in 2021 according to the agreed model, the Swiss formula, which involves adjusting the incomes of older citizens with 50 percent inflation and 50 percent growth in median wages, and the Serbian government has announced a new model from 2022 that will allow even greater growth. The goal is for the average pension to reach 400 euros in 2025.

Starting in January and salary increase

Starting January 1, health care workers’ wages will increase by 5 percent and all others in the public sector by 3.5 percent. Starting April 1, all will receive an additional raise of up to five percent, and health workers have already received one-time aid in the amount of 10,000 dinars.