A publication on Facebook, made during the vote on the General State Budget for 2022, accuses the PS of “simply not having been the only one to oppose the extraordinary increase in pensions because the [Iniciativa Liberal] he was there to line up against those who need him most.” In the post, this user says that this happened after António Costa spent the election campaign proclaiming that only the victory of the PS would allow an extraordinary increase in pensions.

The State Budget that was approved on May 27 in Parliament, by PS, PAN, Livre and the three PSD-Madeira deputies, includes an extraordinary increase in pensions, up to 10 euros, which will be paid from May 2 to 3. July. million pensioners who receive a pension of up to 1,108 euros (2.5 times the Social Support Index – IAS). This payment will be made retroactively from January this year.

It is the sixth extraordinary increase in the pensions of the governments headed by António Costa, and this measure was an important banner at the time of the “gadget” negotiations. Between 2017 and 2021, the PS did not have a majority in Parliament and the extraordinary increase in pensions was one of the measures negotiated with the leftist parties, PCP, Bloco de Esquerda and PEV, which guaranteed the approval of the budgets. However, this was not what happened in the first budget proposal for 2022, which failed in Parliament late last year, bringing down the previous government. The extraordinary increase in pensions was foreseen in the document, but the Government’s proposal was not approved.

After this political crisis, the PS won the elections and, in the campaign, António Costa promised to maintain this (among others) measures that were included in the failed proposal. The socialist even said that, if he won the elections, the extraordinary increase in the pension would still be paid retroactively to January 1. What has happened.

During the electoral campaign, in January, this was one of the measures repeatedly mentioned by António Costa to criticize the conduct of the budget. “This Budget, if it had been in force, would have allowed all pensioners, with pensions of up to 1,097 euros, to have already received the extraordinary increase this month. An extraordinary increase in pensions that they will not receive because these parties failed the Budgets in Parliament”, he said, for example, in Faro.

After winning the elections with an absolute majority, Costa maintained the measure in the OE proposal that he delivered to Parliament. However, in the specialty vote, the PS and the Liberal Initiative voted against the amendment proposals of the PCP, Enough and Free to go further in this extraordinary increase. The PCP wanted this extraordinary increase to be 5.3% as long as it was not less than 20 euros, Chega proposed an increase of 50 euros for pensions up to the value of the IAS (443.20 euros), of 20 euros between that value and the minimum wage (705 euros) and 10 euros for those who earn above the minimum wage up to 2.5 IAS (1,108 euros). Livre, for its part, requested an extra update of 30 euros for pensioners who receive up to double the IAS (886.6 euros) and 20 euros for those whose pension is higher than that amount, as detailed by the Observer in the follow-up of parliamentary sessions. votes. .

conclusion

The extraordinary increase in pensions was in the State Budget proposal for 2022 presented by the Government and, as promised in the campaign, it will be applied retroactively to the month of January. What was rejected by the PS and the Liberal Initiative were the proposals of the PCP, Enough and Free to reinforce this extraordinary increase. In the parliamentary hearings on the OE for 2022, the Minister of Social Security assured that the measure was ready to take effect from July, which was assured with the approval of the Budget.

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