Danko Shocked That Smer-SD and Voice-SD Didn't Support Pension Rise for Over-90s

Bratislava, 21 May (TASR) - SNS chair Andrej Danko has again called on coalition partners Smer-SD and Voice-SD to support an SNS proposal, currently in Parliament, to increase pensions for seniors aged over 90. Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Danko claimed that he was shocked and outraged that Smer-SD and Voice-SD failed to support the proposal in parliamentary committees. According to Danko, if they also fail to back it at its second reading, they lack social sensitivity, and he warned that, despite the coalition agreement, he will try to approach opposition politicians for support. "In 2019, SNS introduced an automatic pension adjustment mechanism, meaning that minimum pensions increased annually by a percentage rate, and if the mechanism that we set up had remained in place, the minimum pension would have now stood at €534 per month. That would represent 33 percent of the average salary," underlined Danko, who stated that previous governments scrapped the mechanism, and so the current minimum pension now stands at €412. Through an amendment to the Social Insurance Act currently at its second reading in Parliament, SNS is proposing to increase pensions for almost 26,000 seniors over the age of 90 to €824 per month. "I'm shocked by the lack of a social approach in Smer-SD and Voice-SD, which initially welcomed this bill," said Danko, criticising the parties for not supporting the proposal in committees. "This cynical approach by Smer-SD and Voice-SD, refusing to raise pensions for at least 26,000 pensioners to the level of €824, is shocking for me," the SNS chair added. Danko said that pensions for these seniors should be at least €820, which, he argued, would ensure access to adequate social services. "If Smer-SD and Voice-SD don't support this, I'll say loudly that they have no social touch," he stated. According to Danko, a bill to reintroduce the automatic minimum pension adjustment mechanism has also been submitted to Parliament. He said that in this case he understands the coalition partners' concerns regarding fiscal responsibility. "This would again amount to hundreds of millions, but in the case of measures that can be covered, we estimate the impact at between €50 million and €80 million. The state must have the courage and the will to help these people," said the SNS chair, who argued that the state has sufficient funds, pointing to the profits made by banks, power companies and gambling firms. mf/df