The Riigikogu did not support the proposal of the Center Party faction to make the payment of support for pensioners living alone more flexible, which, according to Social Committee member Andre Hanimägi, clearly shows the attitude of today’s coalition towards the elderly, a large part of whom live in relative poverty.
The amount of support for a pensioner living alone is 200 euros and it is paid once a year, together with the October pension, but Andre Hanimägi, who defended the draft decision at the plenary session, pointed out that due to limitations in the law, not all pensioners living alone can receive the support. “Many pensioners living alone have found themselves in a difficult situation, because in reality they live alone and would need help in the form of support for a pensioner living alone, but legally they do not meet the conditions for support, because their pension is greater than 1.2 times the average old-age pension or there is someone else living with them written in,” he explained Andre Hanimägi.
“There can be several reasons why a de facto pensioner living next door is registered at the same address as someone else,” continued the member of the board of the Center Party. “Sometimes a pensioner living alone may not know that someone close to him is still registered in the same place of residence, or there is no other way due to circumstances. Therefore, the law should be changed and a close relative, such as his child, grandchild, mother or father, should be allowed to register at the same address as a pensioner living alone. In addition, it would be reasonable to abolish the 1.2-fold limit on the average old-age pension in order to treat all seniors equally.”
According to the data of the 2021 census, 98,800 people form a separate household in Estonia, i.e. a pensioner living alone. The income inequality of old-age pension recipients is relatively high compared to other residents, and the relative poverty rate of old-age pensioners living alone is significantly higher than that of others.
“The VAT increase that will come into effect next year will also directly affect the livelihood of the elderly – food, medicines and services will become more expensive, among other things,” listed Andre Hanimägi. “The Center Party has made several proposals to improve the living conditions of pensioners and raised old-age pensions as an emergency, but the government led by the Reform Party has completely turned its back on the elderly. It will also not be possible to fulfill the promise given in the elections to raise the average pension to 1,000 euros.”
