Romania Puts Cap on Special Military Pensions

Romania's Social Democrat-led government said on Friday it would cap special pensions for the military and secret services to keep spending in check, Reuters reports.

A number of wage increases and tax cuts have raised concerns with the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund that the European Union member state will miss its fiscal deficit target of 3.0 percent of gross domestic product.

Pay deals granted to several areas of the bloated public administration including the army, secret services, police and lawmakers mean their pensions get hiked in line with special wage rises in their sectors even after retirement.

"We are in a situation where some pensions are higher than wages and there will come a moment when the budget could not afford that," Defence Minister Adrian Tutuianu told reporters.

The average military special pension stands at 3,292 lei ($856.98) per month, Tutuianu said. In comparison, the average pension for the 5.2 million state pensioners stands at a little under 1,000 lei ($260.32).