The President of the Republic, Aleksandar Vučić, has announced that pensions will be increased before the end of the year, and that the rise will match the increase in wages. In addition, further one-off payments of 20,000 to 35,000 dinars have been announced for pensioners, alongside a payment of 6,000 dinars from the Shareholders’ Fund for all adult citizens.
However, many argue that this is not the first time such promises have been made ahead of elections, with some even questioning the President’s authority on the matter.
Pensions are regularly index-linked every January; nevertheless, Vučić claims that this year’s adjustment will take place somewhat earlier. Last year, the pension increase also arrived early, in December. However, owing to numerous other social measures announced by the authorities in recent days, this year’s early rise – matching wage growth – has fuelled assumptions that it is simply an election campaign targeting pensioners.
Retired economist and member of the Green-Left Front, Mladen Vitas, commented specifically on these financial expenditures as part of an election strategy.
“Everything regarding the election campaign lacks transparency. This sum to be distributed will reach over 900 billion dinars, and its origin is questionable. That money comes from the Shareholders’ Fund, but it is not enough, as those 6,000 dinars must be partially financed from the budget. Meanwhile, the pension increase itself and the payouts of 20,000 to 35,000 dinars point to a one-off move by the authorities in an election campaign, just as has been done before,” Vitas said.
In his address on social programmes for RTS (Radio Television of Serbia), Finance Minister Siniša Mali also noted that in the coming period, all adult citizens will become eligible for money from the Shareholders’ Fund – specifically, a one-off payment of 6,000 dinars.
According to Milan Grujić, President of the Association of Pensioners’ Trade Unions of Serbia, the practice of turning funds into social aid for campaign purposes goes beyond the election itself. It raises the fundamental question of what is happening to the money in the PIO (Pension and Disability Insurance) Fund, which was earned by the very people it is intended for.
“What we do not want is for pensions to be reduced to social assistance, as there is a tendency to do. What we are receiving now has been honestly earned through long years of work, and it is essential that this remaining part of life is not only dignified, but decent and worth living, which is currently not the case,” says Grujić. He adds that average pensions have fallen behind wages and appeals to pensioners to “open their eyes and not let temporary hand-outs blind them to reality.”
Beside pension increases being exploited for electoral gain, experts also point out that the President of the Republic has no legal authority to raise pensions.
Jovan Tamburić, Deputy President of the Association of Trade Unions of Retired Military Personnel of Serbia, claims that pensioners are subjected to “year-round terror by media under the control of the Serbian Progressive Party.” He emphasizes that pension indexing is regulated by the Law on PIO and that the State Fund has its own board, which ought to make decisions and inform the public accordingly.
“The overall conduct of the Serbian Progressive Party, and above all Aleksandar Vučić, regarding their alleged involvement in decision-making on pension levels, serves the election campaign primarily. It forces misinformed citizens to conclude that pension indexing depends solely on Aleksandar Vučić and the Serbian Progressive Party,” Tamburić states.
Although commentators are not optimistic about the promises, some have discussed potential solutions.
According to Milan Grujić, one hypothetical solution to the pension issue is for pensions to track wages, as he claims the President himself once promised.
“If the President wished to fulfil his promise, the increase should be split into two stages: two rises of 12 per cent during this year and the next – a total increase of 24 per cent compared to the current pension – in order to reach that €600 mark. Our demand is for the increase in the first step to be at least €550, or 13.6 per cent, as that is the minimum below which an increase would be inappropriate. Bearing in mind that wages will grow by 12 per cent this year, it means the share of pensions relative to average earnings will drop below 47 per cent,” says Grujić. He adds that pensioners have never been in a more unfavourable position, and that such rapid social stratification into rich and poor over a short period remains incomprehensible to him.
(Danas, 26.08.2026)
https://www.danas.rs/vesti/ekonomija/povecanje-penzija-penzioneri/