- “We can guarantee that with the reform we are presenting, pensions will continue to grow and people will have a chance for decent pensions,” Prime Minister Petr Fiala said at the press conference after the government meeting (ODS).
- Current old-age pensioners are guaranteed that their pensions will increase in the future. The granted educational allowance will continue to be part of their pension, Jurečka said.
- If the government did not have the courage to accept the pension reform, the whole system would not be sustainable in the future and would collapse sooner or later, Fiala said.
- The government’s pension amendment envisages raising the retirement age above 65 according to the extension of life, by reducing the calculation of new pensions, a minimum pension of 20 percent of the average wage or an earlier pension for work in a risky environment.
- He will reach 65 in his 30s. According to the amendment, the calculation of new pensions should be reduced between 2026 and 2035. A smaller part of the earnings should be taken into account gradually every year.
- The Chamber could start discussing the amendment at the turn of May and June. Jurečka he expects long negotiations, even overnight. According to the plan, part of the changes should come into effect from January.
- According to the opposition movement ANO, the government coalition is scaring people, and it does not want to discuss the reform with the government. Neither the trade unions, the council for the disabled nor the council for the elderly disagree with the government’s plan. According to economists, the current system is not sustainable without adjustments.
- The Czech Republic wants to buy six firefighting helicopters for CZK 7 billion by 2030, half of which will be paid by the EU. They would also help neighboring countries, said the Austrian.
- At the press conference, Prime Minister Fiala also addressed the new candidate for Minister of Science, Research and Innovation. Fiala assumes that Tuleja will be a reinforcement of the coalition government. He knows him from his academic work. He could be put into office on Monday.
- Until September 30, security measures will be strengthened in the Czech Republic due to the World Cup in hockey and other sports events, the Austrian said. The degree of threat from terrorism does not change.
According to Fiala, thanks to the changes, it will be possible to keep the budget deficit at around one percent of GDP. The pension amendment envisages increasing the retirement age above 65 according to life extension, reducing the calculation of new pensions, a minimum pension of 20 percent of the average wage or an earlier pension for work in a risky environment. The House will receive the norm. According to the plan, the changes should come into effect gradually from next year.
Society is aging and life is getting longer. People over the age of 65 now make up about a fifth of the population, by the middle of the century it should be a third. Pension costs are rising. Now they make up about a third of the state’s expenses. Last year, 685.3 billion crowns were paid out on pensions. Year-on-year, the amount increased by 97.2 billion crowns, i.e. by 17 percent.
Incomes have increased by eight percent, but they do not have time to cover expenses. The pension insurance system ended up with the highest ever deficit of 72.8 billion crowns. It’s around a percent of GDP. According to earlier data from the Ministry of Labour, in a few decades the annual deficit could correspond to up to five percent of GDP, in today’s values it would be around 350 billion crowns.
According to economists, the pension system is not sustainable without changes. The opposition rejects the proposals. According to the opposition movement ANO, the government coalition is scaring people, and it does not want to discuss the reform with it. Neither the trade unions, the council for the disabled nor the council for the elderly disagree with the government’s plan.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Marian Jurečka (KDU-ČSL) said that he had about ten meetings with representatives of the opposition. According to him, they received a proposal for comments in December. According to him, ANO “didn’t send a single comma”, the SPD added its ideas to support families. Should the ANO movement change its approach, Jurečka repeated that he is willing to discuss the proposals. He noted that current old-age pensioners are guaranteed that their pensions will increase in the future.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Vít Rakušan (STAN) noted that the opposition did not have enough responsibility or courage to prepare the reform. “It turned out that this government certainly does not lack courage, but the opposition does not lack a series of excuses,” he pointed out. According to him, in the next rounds of negotiations, it is important not to replace responsible politics with boundless populism.
If the reform was not carried out, in the future any political representation would decide how to preserve the dignified life of pensioners, says TOP 09 chairwoman Markéta Pekarová Adamová. It would mean an increase in taxes, a reduction in pensions or a reduction in funding for some other area, she noted. According to her, YES did not show a solution, did nothing at all and stuck its head in the sand.
In March, representatives of ANO took part in negotiations on pensions with Jurečka and President Petr Pavlo at Prague Castle. They canceled their participation in a second such meeting a week ago after disagreements over the results of the meeting and Fiala’s statement that the coalition would push through the reform regardless of the opposition’s opinion.
What else did the government discuss?
Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) assumes that Pavel Tuleja, nominated by TOP 09 for Minister of Science and Research, will strengthen the coalition government. He told journalists after today’s cabinet meeting that he knows the economist and former rector of the University of Silesia from his academic career. TOP 09 has agreed with President Pavlo on the candidate for Minister of Science. He should appoint Tuleja to the office on Monday, May 6, Adamová said.
On the government’s agenda was also the so-called amendment law, which mainly adjusts the wording and terminology in 25 regulations due to the already approved standards on weapons and ammunition and ammunition. “Without the adoption of the Laws Amendment Act, the new system would not be operational,” explains the Ministry of the Interior in the proposal. The amendments will be effective from 2026. Necessary material changes are also being prepared in some laws.
The government also had on its agenda the parameters of the subsidy program for the purchase of helicopters for aerial firefighting or the report on the activities of the Research, Development and Innovation Council for the past year. For information, the ministers received a report on the investment preparation for the expansion of the Solnice – Kvasiny industrial zone or on the smoothing of the mining activity of the company DIAMO.