Skopje, 29 November 2025 (MIA) - The chaos in the pension system, the instability of the pension fund and the uncertainty of regular payments of pensions in the coming months are the result of the government’s bad policies and lies, said SDSM leader Venko Filipche at a press conference Saturday.

The opposition leader warned the pension system is on the brink of collapse.

“The debts in the fund today amount to EUR 1 billion. For 2026, Mden 62 billion will be needed for pension payments, twice as much as the funds required in 2023,” Filipche said.

Filipche noted that half of the money for pensions is not sourced from the fund but is instead subsidized from the budget. The opposition leader said this raises the question of what happens to the workers’ contributions and what kind of security exists for future pensioners.

At the press conference, the SDSM leader further criticized the government over “chaos in the energy sector” and a “dramatic drop in foreign investments”. According to Filipche, the production of electricity is at a historic low.

“The energy balance for 2025 projected 5.100 gigawatt-hours, but according to the reports by MEPSO and MEMO, by October only 2.450 had been produced, meaning that with less than two months left until the end of the year, not even 50 percent of the planned amount has been achieved,” said Filipche, warning that ESM is operating at only half of the country’s hydroelectric potential.

According to Filipche, due to the low production the country has been buying electricity at much higher prices, noting that EUR 62 million in public money have been spent on this, which, he said, then leads to higher electricity bills.

“In the new tender for next year, the price of electricity offered by ESM to EVN for households rises from EUR 62 to EUR 65. So, there is an increase in the price of electricity, and the rise in electricity prices triggers an increase in all other prices in the country,” Filipche stressed.

Regarding investments, Filipche pointed to “a dramatic decline” and said that when SDSM was in power, foreign direct investments amounted to EUR 800 million, while now, in nine months, they have been around EUR 200 million.

The opposition leader warned that large companies are closing their factories, and several more, he added, are preparing to leave.

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