Yesterday 12:29

Sorin Grindeanu announces pension increases in 2027 and rejects tax hikes

Cristina Petrache

2 November 2026, 12:29

Politics

Foto Inquam Photos / Octav Ganea

Always see our news on Google

PSD President Sorin Grindeanu said Monday, at the party’s central headquarters, that pensions must be increased in 2027, as required by law. At the same time, the Social Democratic leader said the party aims to avoid raising taxes, while final decisions will be made when next year’s budget is adopted.

Grindeanu said discussions on pensions, taxes and the minimum wage must be based on budget execution data. Negotiations could begin at the end of November or the beginning of December, after the publication of the report on the budget situation at the end of October and the deficit level.

The PSD leader also called for a new unified pay law to be drafted to correct inequities in the public sector. He said the bill must be discussed with employers’ associations and trade unions.

Asked about the increase in the gross minimum wage requested by trade unions, Grindeanu did not give a firm answer, citing the need to assess the financial situation. The prime minister asked ministers to present the expenses required through the end of the year, including bills and investments.

Context: PSD invoked the freezing of pensions and called for budget adjustments so that there would be money for payments, amid disputes over the financing of indexation and the pay law

Previously, Sorin Grindeanu argued that pensions had been “frozen” for two years and called for the resumption of the indexation provided for by law, pointing out that pensioners had borne significant burdens during the austerity period. Along the same lines, he stated that a budget adjustment adopted under an emergency procedure would ensure the funds needed to pay pensions through the end of the year, finance medicines and hospitals, and settle debts owed to Romanian companies, with a second adjustment scheduled for mid-November being necessary.

There have also been criticisms in the political discussions: the mayor of Buzău, Constantin Toma, said that the promises regarding the indexation of pensions and salaries had no clear sources of funding and estimated that approximately 27 billion lei (more than 5 billion euros) would be needed—money that would have to be borrowed. At the same time, Grindeanu warned that there was no longer enough time to adopt the pay law in the form under discussion, due to the lack of consensus among the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Health, in a context where trade union federations announced protests for an increase in the minimum wage and the unblocking of collective bargaining.