Finance minister: Freezing pensions not on the government's table
Claims made by investigative newspaper Eesti Ekspress on Tuesday about plans to freeze or cut pensions are false, Finance Minister Mart Võrklaev (Reform) has said.
Võrklaev said: "I want to stress that the government is not discussing freezing or cutting pensions."
"Estonian pensions have significantly risen, especially over the past two years, but the OECD and the IMF have both highlighted that pensioners still remain the most financially vulnerable group," he went on.
"The savings plan I have prepared for discussion with the coalition and the government aims to improve the fiscal situation," the minister added.
"This does include some tough savings measures, but on the proviso that pensions remain untouched. People need a sense of security and certainty about the future," Võrklaev continued.
Eesti Ekspress reported on Tuesday that, according to information they had to hand, a government plan is on the table to abandon the indexing of pensions at the bare minimum.
Without citing sources, Eesti Ekspress wrote: "Ministries have calculated that this could save approximately €200 million in 2025, then €400 million, then €600 million, etc."
"If instead of freezing, an approach to reduce indexing was adopted which would be similar to the system for top civil servants' wages, the savings would come to just over half that amount," Eesti Ekspress added.
"Such calculations are not made on the never-never. Officials do not come to work in the morning thinking about what hypothetical cuts they could calculate for today. It is the politicians who give the orders on what to calculate and analyze," the paper continued.
"As is the case in coalition negotiations, politicians tend to keep their mouths shut ahead of making a definitive decision on pension cuts. Some say they haven't heard anything about it, others that nothing has been agreed upon, and still others that all options are on the table. But no one wants to openly state when pension cuts will come and in what form."
The alleged plan to cut pensions was also denied by coalition MPs participating in Tuesday's edition of ETV European elections head-to-head show "Valimisstuudio."
Pensions rise annually according to an index that is enshrined in legislation and which the sitting government does not make a decision over.
At the same time, a governing coalition can amend legislation, subject to getting a majority in a Riigikogu vote.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
