The average old-age pension in Moldova in early 2021 amounted to 2067.6 lei, which is 12.2% more than a year earlier.
Over the past 5 years, the size of the old-age pension has grown by 59%. At the beginning of this year, the average pension for men was 2409.3 lei, for women - 1919.9 lei. Thus, the gender inequality in the payment of pensions was 20.3% in favor of men (at the beginning of 2017, the difference between pensions for men and women was 18.1%). At the same time, in 2020 the subsistence minimum for pensioners amounted to 1759.8 lei, which is 3.1% more than a year earlier. In large cities, the subsistence minimum for pensioners was 1955.9 lei, in small towns - 1746.8 lei, in villages - 1692.8 lei. The average old-age pension exceeds the subsistence minimum by 17.5% (in 2016 it was 13% less than the subsistence minimum). At the same time, in the agricultural sector, the pension is less than the subsistence level by 13.5%, in the non-agricultural sector - it exceeds the subsistence level by 32.4%. The minimum pension at the beginning of 2021 averaged 1143.6 lei, it is 35% less than the subsistence minimum for pensioners. According to statistics, about 23.7% of pensioners in Moldova continue to work after retirement. Every fourth pensioner was engaged in agricultural activities, every third worked in the field of social services. About 31.4% of men of retirement age worked in agriculture, 16.2% in industry, 10.9% in education, and 9.6% in trade. At the same time, almost 30% of women of retirement age worked in agriculture, 20.5% in education, 15.3% in healthcare and social protection, and 12% in trade. The average working week of pensioners was 37 hours. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), last year about 2 thousand social workers provided home care services for 17.5 thousand disabled pensioners at home. Throughout the country, 62 social canteens (including 42 rural areas) were operating, serving 23.4 thousand people, of which almost 72% were people of retirement age. Also, 3.8 thousand elderly people used the services of specialized centers, and 1.5 thousand - personal support services, 0.9 thousand - received material assistance. The NBS states that the financial situation of older people in cities is better than in villages, while the main source of income for pensioners is social benefits (47.9% of the monthly income of pensioners). At the same time, salaries account for 28.6% of pensioners' income, 9.1% - income from agricultural activities, 8.2% - remittances from abroad. // 01.10.2021 - InfoMarket
