Luxembourg insists on raising the minimum pension

Against the backdrop of growing inequality and the rising cost of living, the Luxembourg Chamber of Salaried Employees (CSL) is once again raising an issue that has been ignored at executive level over the past years: the current minimum pension of €2,350 gross per month is not enough for older people to lead a decent life in one of the most expensive countries in Europe.

In a recent analytical publication released as part of the national debate on the pension system, the CSL demands that the government reconsider its position. Chamber leader Sylvain Hoffmann emphasises that this is not about populism, but about basic social justice.

According to the latest figures, poverty among pensioners in Luxembourg has more than doubled in the last ten years. One in ten elderly people now live on incomes that do not cover basic needs, from rent to medical expenses. CSL emphasises that women and those who have worked in several countries during their working life and, as a result, have not been able to accumulate a full pension basket are particularly vulnerable. Women account for about 80 per cent of recipients of the minimum pension.

The so-called "pension gender gap" remains a serious problem: women are more likely to work part-time, take career breaks to care for children or relatives and, as a result, retire with less savings. Raising the minimum pension would be a direct step towards narrowing this gap.

CSL emphasises that a possible increase in the minimum pension would not hit the state budget at all. Calculations show that an increase of 10 per cent - to about 2,585 euros per month - would cost 30 million euros per year. Against the background of the total budget of the National Pension Fund (CNAP), which amounts to about 6.5 billion euros annually, this amount looks almost symbolic - less than 0.5 per cent.

Even some employer representatives, traditionally sceptical of increased social spending, have expressed cautious support for this initiative. And youth organisations and political parties - from liberals to social democrats - have repeatedly pointed out the need to address the problem of old-age poverty in a systematic way, rather than through one-off compensations.