"We have not only managed to preserve pensions and pay them regularly, but we have also made it possible for them to grow faster than prices and inflation. Thanks to you, we have achieved all this while preserving the stability of the country's finances."
These are the words from Aleksandar Vučić's letter that every pensioner in the country received. In the same month, Vučić sent gifts along with the letter. So pensioners, which Aleksandar Vučić trusts the most in the elections, receive today (September 14) from 150 to 300 euros in their account, as part of the pre-election campaign of progressives - which is financed from the state coffers. The only condition is that they have a residence in Serbia, and a separate application is not required.
Subsequently, from September 22, voters will automatically receive i 6.000 dinars each from the Shareholder Fund.
In addition, they "received" numerous left-wing drugs, all in order to support the party to which pensioners, according to public opinion surveys, are most loyal.
How Vučić (doesn't) flatter pensioners
In the letter, Vučić says that he did not do all this to flatter pensioners.
"We all did this together, deeply aware of the fact that you built our Serbia, that you guarded, protected and defended it in the most difficult conditions, and that with your hard-working hands you earned and earned much more than what we could have done," he asserts and points out:
"There are malicious people who try to portray our concern for you as buying votes. They think so badly of you, and of our people, that they expect you to forget that fighting for your well-being has been my priority for more than twelve years."
And then there is a suggestion regarding voting in the upcoming elections:
"I want to tell you that every person, every pensioner, every one of you has and will have the same rights as every other citizen to decide who to vote for."
Photo: Marija JankovicPresident Aleksandar Vucic's letter to pensioners
Gift limits: Who gets 150 and who gets 300 euros
The exact amounts of one-time assistance are divided into three categories, with the highest amount of 35.000 dinars going to pensioners with the lowest incomes.
Thus, pensioners whose monthly pension does not exceed 31.092 dinars will receive 35.000 dinars each. This is precisely the limit for the minimum pension in Serbia for the category of employed and self-employed, which is received by about 300.000 pensioners in the country.
Only agricultural pensioners, who receive 24.443 dinars per month, have less than that. With them in the group are former employees who during their working life had extremely low wages or a minimal number of years of service.
Pensioners with incomes ranging from 31.092 to 56.848 dinars will receive a total of 27.500 dinars, which are beneficiaries whose pension is between the lowest and the average.
Pensioners who have a monthly income of more than 56.848 dinars, i.e. above the average pension, regardless of whether it goes up to 200.000 dinars, such as some military pensions, will certainly receive an allowance of 20.000 dinars
Payment for all categories starts automatically on September 14, 2026 through the PIO Fund, without any need to submit an application.
Where did 600 million euros come from?
The payment will be made through the Republic Fund for Pension and Disability Insurance.
The money that is paid to pensioners in Serbia comes from the budget of the Republic of Serbia, that is, from the state economic package of measures as a one-time financial aid.
However, it is not known how the state secured this money, which together with the entire package of economic measures amounts to around 600 million euros.
It is known that Serbia took on a completely unusual amount of debt in mid-July, right after Vučić announced that he would "help" the citizens. The state borrowed half a billion euros through specific "ad hoc" borrowing, which she did for the first time in the country's history.
This is the largest placement of this kind by a country from the region of Central and Eastern Europe in a period longer than a decade. This is also the first time that Serbia has decided to market its securities in this way.
"This is an ad hoc method of borrowing that is rarely used anywhere," said broker Nenad Gujaničić at the time. "We never did that, but took loans through the engagement of an investment bank, because that's how we get the best possible price on the market. This type of loan is taken in practice when someone needs to bridge something."
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