Vucic: Pensions Up 7.5%, Salaries 8% From December

Pensions in Serbia will rise 7.5 percent starting December 1, a month earlier than the usual calendar would have allowed under the normal January 1 schedule. Public sector salaries go up 8 percent from the same date, and pay for social care workers rises 12 percent. President Aleksandar Vucic read out the figures on September 11, in a midday address from the Palace of Serbia, with the first wire reports carrying the numbers landing around 12:21 and 12:26 p.m.

Until that morning, all that was known was that the increase would be announced that day and that it would take effect from December 1 rather than January 1 as originally planned. The percentages themselves, along with the projected average December salary and the 2027 minimum wage, were first spoken aloud during the address itself.

Who gets the biggest raise

The largest salary increase goes to employees at centers for social work, gerontology homes, and homes for the elderly, roughly 15,000 people. Vucic said their raise is 50 percent larger than the increase for everyone else in the public sector:

“Employees at centers for social work, gerontology homes, and homes for the elderly, about 15,000 of them, will get a 12 percent raise. That’s a 50 percent bigger increase than everyone else’s.”

He added that these workers do exceptionally difficult jobs and that, as he acknowledged, they had been overlooked in recent years. (B92’s headline on its report of the same address put social care’s raise at 20 percent, while the body of that same report, along with coverage from RTS and Mondo, states 12 percent.)

The rest of the public sector gets 8 percent. Vucic cited examples of salary growth in specific professions:

• healthcare: from 597 to 1,629 euros
• nurses: from 297 to 879 euros
• kindergarten teachers: from 437 to 1,071 euros

He added that Serbia is still losing nurses to emigration and that the government would keep working on their pay in the period ahead.

December pay and the 2027 minimum wage

The average net salary in December is projected at 140,850 dinars, or about 1,200 euros, Vucic said: “The average net salary in December will be 140,850 dinars. In euros, that’s 1,200 euros.” The last time this outlet reported on the average salary, it stood at 120,401 dinars, with the public sector then ahead of the private sector in pay. The gap between that figure and the newly announced December number is over 20,000 dinars.

The minimum wage is also going up. “As of January 1, 2027, the net minimum wage will be 600 euros,” the president announced.

Pensions: 7.5 percent, and the comparison with Europe

Vucic justified the pension increase by pointing to a long term growth trend measured against the European Union average:

“We grew by about 36.8 percent, compared to the EU’s average growth of 13 percent, and real wages are up 71 percent, while pensions are up 57 percent.”

He also said pensions have risen 140 percent in nominal terms and 57.8 percent in real terms, and that the average pension has grown from 204 euros in 2012 to 486 euros today. “We’re trying to make sure pensions keep pace with salaries. We’re thinking about the future, not about elections,” Vucic said.

The macroeconomic picture, and what’s missing

The president put the unemployment rate at 7.2 percent, calling it the lowest in Serbia’s history. He estimated annual inflation at up to 3 percent.

The two outlets’ figures for foreign currency reserves differ. RTS reported 35 billion euros, describing it as a historic high for total reserves including gold. B92 reported 30.5 billion euros in total reserves, with 6.2 billion euros of that specifically in gold. The gap between the two numbers was not explained during the address.

The total cost of the package to the budget, and the source of funding for the increase, were not disclosed during the address. Neither RTS, nor Mondo, nor B92 included that figure in their coverage.