On Wednesday, 4 November, a court hearing was commenced during which it is planned to decide on the current old age pension amount’s compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia. In accordance with Europe’s Reviewed Social Charter, the minimal old age pension amount in Latvia should be at least EUR 341 a month, whereas currently it is EUR 80, as reported by the Ombudsman’s Bureau.

Ombudsman Juris Jansons turned to the Constitutional Court over the non-compliance of the old pension amount with the Constitution on 21 April 2020. This was one of the five cases the ombudsman had submitted to the Constitutional Court over regulations that affect public poverty and social isolation, the bureau notes.

«Similarly to previously reviewed cases about the minimal income level’s insufficient amount, for years the ombudsman has been addressing this issue in the government and the Saeima. Only once the Constitutional Court received pleases regarding guaranteed minimal income level, poverty threshold and state social benefit amount’s compliance with the Constitution, the government started to implement policy-planning documents to raise minimal old age pension amounts. However, this time the planned measures were implemented only partially.»

The bureau explains: «Although Latvia’s government agreed minimal old age pension amounts are insufficient, the problem has stood unresolved for 14 years, causing the quality of life to reduce for a considerable portion of the country’s population.»

The Cabinet of Ministers admits the old age pension amount, which was previously tied to the state social insurance contribution amount, is too low and that it is necessary to review it in accordance with budget capabilities. This is why during the 2020 budget creation process an initiative was proposed to increase the old age pension calculation base from EUR 64.03 to EUR 80 (EUR 106.72 to EUR 122.69 for disabled persons).

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