In a post on Facebook on Wednesday, responding to a piece published in Nepszava, the Finance Ministry said Hungary's government respects pensioners and is standing by its pledge to raise pensions, even in wartime.
The ministry pointed out that pensions had been raised by 18.5pc last year and by 6pc this year, and were expected to be bumped up by around 3.2pc in 2025, addressing an attempt by the paper to create an "uproar" over pensions citing a former state secretary who was at the finance ministry when the left-wing government at the time scrapped pensioners' annual bonus.
The Finance Ministry noted that legislation stipulates pensions must be raised if data from January-August show average annual inflation is set to exceed the scale of the pension increase at the start of the year. The government raised pensions by 6pc in January, and average annual inflation is expected to be around 3.7pc, which means the real value of pensions will increase this year, it said.
The ministry added that the law also allows payment of a pension premium if GDP growth exceeds 3.5pc and the general government balance is on target. That premium has been paid five times since 2017, while the left wing never took any such step, it said.
Pensions have doubled since 2010 and their value adjusted for inflation has climbed over 20pc, the ministry said. The government also reintroduced the annual pensioners bonus, equivalent to a full month's pension, which pensioners can count on getting in February, it added.