Skopje, 25 October 2023 (MIA) — Some members of the public and pensioners with higher retirement checks should not be using the vulnerability of pensioners receiving the lowest pensions to score political points, Minister of Labor and Social Policy Jovanka Trenchevska said in a TV appearance on Wednesday, asked to comment on ongoing pensioners protests over low pensions.

Speaking on Alfa TV's morning show, Minister Trenchevska said her main concern was for the pension fund to remain stable and retirement checks to be delivered on time. She also said pensions had increased according to a new methodology and the most vulnerable category of pensioners had received additional financial support from the state.

"The lowest pension at the moment is 13,200 denars. That is an increase of 24 percent through September," Trenchevska said, adding that pensioners who were previously receiving 11,525 denars a month had also received an extra 1,500 denars over a period of four months and those receiving up to 14,000 denars a month had received an extra 750 denars over four months.

The labor minister also spoke about a project with the World Bank to introduce "software that will facilitate collecting documentation." She said this would be helpful to gather official paperwork more easily and ease welfare users' access to social protection services. mr/