Seniors' association OKRA has scrutinised the new Federal Government's pension plans and concluded that they hit pensioners "disproportionately hard."
"Many people will lose purchasing power, and those who have been sick or unemployed will be extra penalised. Especially women, part-time workers and people with low pensions will pay the price," the organisation stated in a press release on Thursday.
Prime Minister Bart De Wever called the pension reform "probably the most sensitive chapter" in the coalition agreement, but he said the reforms are necessary "to grant future generations another dignified pension."
Now, seniors' association OKRA has thoroughly scrutinised the plans and came to a critical analysis: "this agreement is at odds with what OKRA had asked for," they said, calling it an "unbalanced agreement."
Not a choice
The organisation takes issue with several points, ranging from the loss of purchasing power for pensioners due to the abolition of the welfare envelope and the stricter career calculation (with a lower pension for those who have experienced periods of illness or unemployment in their career) to the "harsh cuts for the lowest pensions."
While the Federal Government is calling the coalition agreement balanced, with everyone contributing and "the strongest shoulders carrying the heaviest burdens", the biggest cuts are imposed on pensioners, the unemployed and the long-term sick, according to OKRA.
"Illness and unemployment are not choices; they are circumstances people face. Yet they are now being punished financially," the organisation said.
