Inflation at 9.8% hits pensioners hard - services and medicines see steepest price rises

The inflation rate stagnated at 9.8% in November 2025, remaining at a high level that particularly affects pensioners and seniors on fixed incomes. According to official data, services rose in price by 10.99% and non-food products by 10.73% — categories that are essential for older people.

For seniors in Romania, these price increases are having a devastating impact on purchasing power. Medical services, medicines, utilities and transport — all essential for older people — are recording the steepest price rises, significantly reducing their quality of life.

Food products, although showing a more moderate increase of 7.64%, remain a burden for pensioners on limited incomes. The year-to-date inflation rate has reached 9.5%, meaning that the purchasing power of pensions has declined dramatically.

The National Bank of Romania (BNR) has revised its inflation forecast upwards to 9.6% for the end of 2025, from a previous estimate of 8.8%. This upward trend suggests that pressure on seniors' budgets will continue in the months ahead.

Economics experts consider pensioners to be the most vulnerable group in the face of this elevated inflation, given that pensions are not adjusted in real time to rising prices. Many older people are being forced to forgo necessary medicines or reduce the quality of their diet.

For 2026, the BNR anticipates a fall in inflation to 3.7%, but until then, seniors will have to cope with a difficult period in which the cost of living continues to rise faster than their incomes.