Hungary cancels 2026 pension premium due to low GDP growth

The Hungarian government has submitted a comprehensive amendment to the 2026 budget, effectively canceling the planned pension premium. The previous administration had allocated 24.3 billion forints for this purpose, based on an optimistic GDP growth forecast of 4.1 percent.

Due to slowing economic growth, which is now projected to be between 1.5 and 2 percent, the legal requirement of at least 3.5 percent GDP expansion to trigger the premium will not be met. Consequently, the pension premium has been removed from the budget.

Additionally, pensioners will not receive an inflation-based pension correction at the end of the year. The government expects annual average inflation to settle around 1.6 percent, which they deem insufficient to justify a supplement to the 3.6 percent increase implemented earlier this year. The most significant upcoming change for retirees remains the reform effective in January, which increases the minimum pension from 28,500 forints to 120,000 forints.