By: Vida Kocjan
Of the total 533,292 pension recipients, approximately 309,000 pensioners, or 58% of all recipients, receive a pension below the poverty risk threshold. As many as 51,889 pensioners receive a pension lower than €500. The situation is becoming increasingly dire, with the coalition taking 60% of one monthly pension from every pensioner.
The most recent data from the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia indicates that the poverty risk threshold for a single-person household is €903 per month, and €1,354 per month for a two-person household without children. Pension data shows that, as of November 2024 (the latest figures from the Pension and Disability Insurance Institute, ZPIZ), 308,981 pensioners (out of 533,292) received pensions below €900.
Pensions lag behind
Pensions are falling behind, particularly critically in 2023. In real terms, pensions were lower in 2023, as Golob’s government withheld 60% of one month’s pension. Replacing this shortfall will be challenging, if not impossible. In 2023, the government deprived pensioners and the disabled of a 4.5% increase in pensions and benefits. While public sector wages increased, pensions and benefits did not, despite the governing coalition (Freedom Movement, Social Democrats, and Levica) passing a resolution and promising a 4.5% increase. This promise was never fulfilled.
Golob promised but delivered nothing
Prime Minister Robert Golob stated in the National Assembly on October 24th, 2022: “To conclude regarding the increase in benefits. Yes, it is true that the public sector received adjustments to inflation, calculated at 10%, set at 4.5%. Pensioners will also receive this. When, you ask? This Thursday. The law is already prepared and in the governmental procedure, and this Thursday, we will pass the law providing for a regular 4.5% adjustment of pensions – not bonuses or extras, but regular adjustments.” Minister Luka Mesec similarly affirmed this commitment following a government session on October 27th, 2022.
However, the promises were not kept. The coalition failed to honour its resolutions, prompting the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) parliamentary group to call for an urgent parliamentary committee meeting. They proposed a resolution to compensate pensioners for the 4.5% increase they were denied in 2023. Coalition MPs rejected the proposal.
ZPIZ confirms pensions decreased in real terms
In the summer of 2023, the ZPIZ Annual Report confirmed that pensions decreased in real terms in 2023. While the government increased social transfers by 10.3%, pensions for pensioners and the disabled rose only by 5.2%. With average annual inflation at 7.4% and food prices rising by 19%, pensioners were left behind.
According to ZPIZ data, old-age pensions decreased by 2.1% in real terms, disability pensions by 2.7%, and widows’ and family pensions by 2.4%.
Based on official data on pension growth and average inflation, pensioners were deprived of at least 60% of one monthly pension in 2023, as calculated by SDS MP Karmen Furman.
Although the government paid some additional 4.5% supplements at the end of 2023, these were one-off payments not included in the pension base.
The government of Janez Janša showed the most support for pensioners and the disabled. Measures introduced during his term included three rounds of solidarity allowances for pensioners, free public transport across Slovenia, energy vouchers, and extraordinary pension adjustments.
In 2024, Golob’s government implemented a regular pension adjustment as mandated by law, increasing pensions by 8.8%. However, this occurred alongside high inflation. No extraordinary pension adjustment took place in 2024, despite the worsening financial and social position of Slovenian pensioners due to unfulfilled coalition promises.
High pensions for privileged individuals
Golob’s government has shown a starkly different approach towards pensioners and the disabled compared to privileged individuals receiving extraordinary pensions for “exceptional achievements in the arts”. Under this law, a select few are expected to receive significant additional payments, up to €1,500, resulting in total pensions exceeding €3,000, and in some cases, reportedly reaching €3,500 to €4,000. SDS party has warned that such benefits undermine the pension system by favouring certain groups and creating a divide between first- and second-class citizens.
The coalition approved this law in the National Assembly in December 2024. However, detailed information on the total costs of these pension supplements remains unavailable to the public.