Hungarian pensioners see increased purchasing power

In Hungary, the purchasing power of pensioners has increased by more than 2 percent during the first nine months of the year. This trend is driven by a January pension increase of 3.6 percent, which significantly outpaced the pensioner-specific inflation rate.

According to data from the Central Statistical Office (KSH), pensioner inflation was only 1.1 percent in September. Over the first nine months of the year, the prices of goods and services typically purchased by seniors rose by an average of 1.4 percent compared to the same period last year. Szabolcs Pásztor, research director at Oeconomus, noted that while this represents a favorable gap, the cumulative impact of previous years' price hikes remains significant. Between 2022 and 2025, the price level for the typical pensioner consumer basket rose by nearly 48 percent due to high inflation rates in previous years.