13:11 08/03/2023
The Minister of Finance and Economy, Delina Ibrahimaj, was asked this Wednesday after the government meeting if there will be bonuses for the month of April for pensioners. She stated that at the moment, a policy for giving remuneration to pensioners has not been defined.
She said that the pension indexation policy will be continued in order not to be affected by the effects of the crisis. Ibrahimaj emphasized that the government is working intensively to increase salaries and intends to do this not only for the employees of the administration, but also for the private sector.
Question: Will there be bonuses in April for pensioners or other needy groups as announced earlier as part of the Big Package that started in January.
Delina Ibrahimaj: In fact, we have foreseen in the budget for this year a fund dedicated to social support. We are working intensively to increase salaries and we will aim for salaries to increase during the year not only for the employees of the administration, but also for the private sector. One step we took was raising the minimum wage. It will have an impact not only on the wages of minimum wage earners, but on the entire wage structure. Regarding pensions, we have a policy that is already consolidated for indexation based on inflation. Pensions during the last year were indexed twice. We will continue with the policy of indexation of pensions in order that all the effects of the crisis and the increased prices of war inflation will not have an impact on pensioners’ pensions. At the moment we have not defined a policy of giving an immediate reward in the month of April./broread