Increase of pension may be less than estimated by the Government – the Public.en

With the increase of the pensions is directly linked to inflation, the minister of Labour and Social Security, Vieira da Silva, acknowledged on Friday, that the evolution of this indicator may not reach the 0.7 percent estimated by the Government.

In the State Budget for 2017, the Government expects that the pension up to 840 euros have an update of 0.7%, in January next year. But after the National Institute of Statistics (INE) have released this week that inflation in October (without housing) was 0,53% in October, the estimate of the Government may not materialize.

inflation has had a growing trend, I don’t know if with the intensity enough to reach that value," said Vieira da Silva when he was asked by journalists about until the end of the year the inflation could still reach to 0.7%.

The increase of pensions, he explained, will only be decided when we have all the data in our possession." "Is not yet shut down the process of benchmarking," the minister added, noting that it will have to wait for inflation which will be released in December by the INE (and with respect to the month of November), to then know how much they will increase pensions next year.

Vieira da Silva was speaking after more than four hours of debate with the members of the committees of Budget and Finance and of Labour and Social Security.

During the debate on the specialty of the State Budget (OE) for 2017, the opposition well-tried that the minister would reveal what the value of the planned update, but without any success.

CDS and PSD challenged even Vieira da Silva to be included in the extraordinary increase in August who has social pensions, rural, or the first level of the minimum pension. Also here, the minister refused changes to the criteria of the State Budget.

"it is Not a matter of stubbornness", explained Vieira da Silva in his last intervention. But "to restore justice" lost in the appreciation of that "having long careers have low pensions".

In the next year, all pensions up to 838 euros (approximately two times the Social Support Index, which will also be updated) will have an increase equal to inflation. The pension tier (838 2500 euros, approximately) will have an increase in lower (inflation less 0.5 percentage points), but they run the risk of not having any increase if inflation remains at current levels.

in Addition, in August, the pensions up to 1.5 IAS (about 640 euros) will be entitled to an additional increase up to make a total of 10 euros. This increase will not cover, however, who is in the first step of the minimum pension (eur 263), receive a social pension (202 euros) or a pension fund (242 euros) and had increases between 2011 and 2015 – these only can count with an update for inflation.