Expert Anton Hadăr explains why pension increases after recalculation are minimal

A pensions expert has offered detailed explanations as to why the pension increases resulting from the recalculation are far smaller than many Romanian pensioners had expected. The specialist demonstrated through concrete calculations how the recalculation system works and why the results have proved disappointing for the majority of beneficiaries.

According to the analysis presented, for a pensioner who had earned a steady average salary throughout their working life (equivalent to approximately 9,000 RON gross at present), any additional benefits received sporadically during their career — such as holiday bonuses or occasional one-off payments — translate into minimal pension increases. One concrete example shows that a holiday bonus received in a single year amounts to just 6.75 RON extra on the pension.

The impact of the calculations on middle and low-income pensioners

The situation becomes even more problematic for middle-income pensioners. A pensioner with approximately 50 pension points, currently receiving around 4,500 RON per month, could face an effective loss of roughly 1,000 RON compared to what they should have received under the increases originally scheduled. This discrepancy stems from the way in which calculation coefficients are applied during the recalculation process.

For pensioners on minimum incomes, the situation is no better. Rather than benefiting from successive 10% increases that would have raised the minimum pension from 1,281 RON to approximately 1,550–1,560 RON, they are instead confronted with far smaller rises. The current calculation system fails to bridge the gap between the expectations that were created and the mathematical reality of the calculation formulae.

The technical explanation of the problem

The fundamental problem lies in how the recalculation system evaluates contributions and benefits from the working period. Every additional benefit received during a career is divided by the total number of months worked, resulting in increases that are almost negligible at the level of the final pension. This calculation mechanism means that most pensioners feel the recalculation has brought no substantial improvement to their purchasing power.

The expert emphasises that the term 'minor recalculation' is entirely justified, as the concrete results demonstrate that increases are indeed minimal for the vast majority of pensioners. This situation raises serious questions about the efficiency of the current pensions system and about the measures needed to ensure a decent standard of living for Romania's senior citizens.