Prague, Nov 13 (CTK) – Czech pensioners will receive a one-off bonus of 1,200 crowns next year, the 200-member Chamber of Deputies decided by 163 out of the 164 deputies present Friday.
At first, the Chamber of Deputies was expected to support the proposal of giving 1,000 crowns more to the pensioners, as proposed by its social committee.
The legislation is yet to be debated by the Senate.
Given the low inflation rate and a sluggish growth in real wages, the pensioners are only to receive 40 crowns more a month as of January.
At first, the government wanted to send the one-off sum of 600 crowns to the pensioners before Christmas.
However, as the right-wing opposition blocked the approval of the legislation in the first round of the debate, the December deadline could not be met.
In the Czech Republic, pensions are regularly raised by the inflation rate and one-third of the increase in real wages in January.
Last year, the average old-age pension rose by 104 crowns.
The average monthly pension in the Czech Republic is about 11,300 crowns and the average gross monthly wage about 26,000 crowns. There are some 2.36 million old-age pensioners in the country with 10.5 million inhabitants.
