Petition demanding pension updates for everyone delivered by the end of the month to parliament – Society

The Justice for Pensioners and Retirees (JPR) movement intends to deliver a petition to parliament by the end of the month demanding the change of the rule that establishes the updating of pensions only in the second year of retirement.

Entitled “Pension update for all pensioners and retirees”, the petition had more than 3,230 online signatures this Wednesday afternoon.

“On paper we still don’t know the number, but we believe there are as many as these or more, because we have a network of people across the country collecting signatures”, António Lourenço, spokesperson for the movement, told the Lusa agency this Wednesday.

At issue is the article on updating pensions in law 52 of 2007, which states that “retirement, retirement and disability pensions are updated annually, starting from the second year following their award, with effect from the 1st January of each year, depending on its amount”.

According to the rule, any retiree in 2023 will only be entitled to a pension update in January 2025.

“It is absolutely absurd and irrational, there is nothing in the law that justifies it”, stressed António Lourenço.

The petition will be sent to the President of the Republic, the Assembly of the Republic, the Government and the political parties, “with a view to later obtaining hearings with the parliamentary groups”, he added.

According to António Lourenço, the JPR movement wants the rule to be changed “so that this problem never arises again, because you never know how the situation in terms of inflation occurs”.

“It is fair that at the beginning of the year all pensioners can have their pension updated by the amount that is currently stipulated by law”, he stated, clarifying that what the movement wants to discuss is “a possible unconstitutionality which is inequality of treatment to pensioners”.

On February 29, the movement filed a complaint with the Ombudsman’s Office, lamenting the “discriminatory and unconstitutional treatment”, but has not yet received a response.

“We hope that the Ombudsman’s Office will recommend the repeal of the rule to Parliament,” said António Lourenço, adding that the movement would like to begin in June “a solution that is concerted, consensual and definitive.”