Vucic: Wage, Pension Hike Numbers in Three to Four Days
The president promised exact percentages for wage and pension increases within three to four days, with effects from December. Pensioners are due a one-off payment from the PIO Fund from September 14.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday, September 3, during a visit to the North Banat District and the city of Kikinda, that the public will learn the exact percentages of the public sector wage and pension increases within three to four days.
“In three or four days we will inform the public how much wages and pensions will rise,” Vucic said.
It is the first time the president has given a concrete deadline for releasing the figures, even though the increase has been promised for weeks already. The first effects of the raises, both in public sector wages and in pensions, are expected to show up in payments starting December this year, and by January next year at the latest. Finance Minister Sinisa Mali confirmed the same timeline during the parliamentary debate on the budget rebalance.
The current numbers show the gap the government is aiming to close. The average salary in Serbia stood at 1,026 euros (120,401 dinars) in June, while the average pension was 486 euros. The government’s stated targets are an average salary of 1,400 euros and an average pension of 650 euros by the end of next year. The minimum wage is rising from January 1 by 9.2%, to around 70,470 dinars, or roughly 600 euros.
How much will the one-off payment be?
Alongside the systemic increase, pensioners are also due a one-off cash payment, which the president says should be disbursed within ten days. Sources differ on the amount: Espreso reports that Vucic mentioned a range of 25,000 to 35,000 dinars while speaking in Kikinda, while Mondo and Kurir report a range of 20,000 to 35,000 dinars, depending on the size of a pensioner’s regular pension.
Kurir lists the breakdown by category, with exact thresholds: 35,000 dinars for pensioners with a monthly pension of up to 31,092 dinars, 27,500 dinars for those receiving between 31,092 and 56,822 dinars, and 20,000 dinars for those above that amount. Payments begin on September 14, through the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund (PIO Fund). Kurir adds that some agricultural pensioners, by combining different types of income, could receive more than 50,000 dinars in one-off aid.
The same date, September 14, also applies to aid for a second group of recipients: recipients of cash social assistance, child allowance and veteran’s allowance are due a one-off payment of 25,000 dinars, with veterans receiving an additional 10,000 dinars on top of that base amount.
What else is in the 600 million euro package
The entire support package is worth 600 million euros. Besides aid to pensioners and socially vulnerable categories, it includes a one-off payment of 6,000 dinars for all adult citizens with Serbian citizenship, residence in Serbia and a valid ID card, disbursed through the Share Fund. According to Kurir, that payment is scheduled for September 22 to 25.
Kurir also reports that the same package includes a permanent allowance for so-called parent caregivers, 65,000 dinars a month with pension and health insurance contributions paid, which takes effect from October 1 for parents of children with disabilities or serious illnesses.
The government is also counting on a macroeconomic footing to finance the announced payments: an unemployment rate of 8.9% and projected economic growth of 3.3% for 2026. Srpske Novine reported earlier this week that the PIO Fund is choosing among three models for calculating the regular pension increase, and that calculation is expected to become known within the timeframe the president has now named for the first time. For now, the only certainty is that the final figure for the systemic wage and pension increase will be known within the next three to four days.
