Romania's labour minister says pensions will be indexed in 2027 and pensioners get aid in December

Indexation plan for 2027

Romania's labour minister, Florin Manole, said on Saturday, 31 October, in an interview on Antena 3 CNN that pensions will be indexed from 1 January 2027 under the legal formula. He said he will submit a legal proposal to Prime Minister Luca Niculescu and Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare, and that the final percentage will come from that formula. Manole rejected a freeze in 2027 and said no talks have taken place on paying the increase in two or three tranches or through a mix with one-off payments. He described compliance with the law as the only scenario currently on the table.

“Pensions will be indexed and raised next year.”

The minister said none of the scenarios circulating publicly had been discussed with the prime minister, the finance minister or PSD leader Sorin Grindeanu, and he called much of the talk speculation.

The 7.3% estimate

Manole said the latest estimate he had seen, unofficial and certainly not final, was around 7.3%, with a budget impact of 9.6 billion lei. The figure comes from calculations made with the National Pensions House, whose president he described as very professional and as monitoring macroeconomic indicators every month. Adevarul.ro, which also reported the interview, put the estimated increase at about 7.7%, so the two figures are circulating side by side. The minister said the final number will be whatever the formula produces.

“I do not want to sell illusions, but I also do not want to give up pensioners' rights.”

He added that his mandate is to respect the law rather than negotiate downward.

December aid for pensioners

Pensioners with incomes of up to 3,000 lei will receive the second half of the financial aid set at the start of the year, paid together with their December pension. The amount depends on the monthly pension: 500 lei up to 1,500 lei, 400 lei for pensions between 1,501 and 2,000 lei, and 300 lei for pensions between 2,001 and 3,000 lei.

Pensions up to 1,500 lei500

Pensions 1,501-2,000 lei400

Pensions 2,001-3,000 lei300

Pensions up to 1,500 lei

500 lei

Pensions 1,501-2,000 lei

400 lei

Pensions 2,001-3,000 lei

300 lei

Data from the article text

Manole credited an emergency budget rectification with securing the money for the National Pensions House and the employment agency ANOFM. He said that without it there would have been problems in the social sector and in pensions and health. He also gave assurances that pensions will be paid on time through the end of the year. In the same interview he warned that a family with two children needs at least 11,000 lei a month to live decently in Romania, and that very few households reach that level.

Minimum wage and salary law

Manole said the minimum wage could theoretically rise from 1 January 2027, but the government programme calls for indexation over a 12-month horizon, which he said is the exact wording of that programme. The decision will be taken in the National Tripartite Council, where government, unions and employers' organisations sit, with discussions scheduled for November. A possible increase of 600 lei gross that has circulated publicly was not confirmed by the minister. He said talks on the unified salary law will resume early next year, once salary data from public institutions has been compiled, and that the new formula will not cut pay for staff in essential sectors such as health and education.