Pensioners have again gathered in protest in Tirana, their main demand for 2025 remains the increase of pensions and the distribution of bonuses in order to contribute to the improvement of living conditions.

They demand that pensions be made equal to the minimum wage, stressing that the bonus twice a year is not enough to cover daily expenses.

“We don’t eat twice a year”

“We don’t want to eat just once, we want the whole year, that’s why we come here to ask the state to increase our pension. We received 250 ALL as a bonus, but we want something more stable. We don’t want just once in winter and spring, we want enough pension for the whole year”, says a pensioner.

Retirees are looking for steady growth

“Whenever there are protests, we will come and talk. We demand that the pensions increase every month, reaching 400,000 ALL, the minimum wage. This would be a help to survive, especially for those who are the oldest and face great difficulties,” says a pensioner.

Pensioners also claim that the establishment of a living minimum is a first step in the direction of improving pensions in Albania. They emphasize that no pension should be below 20,000 ALL, as this is too low to survive.

“The bonus is not valid, we want an increase in pensions”

“The bonus has no value for us. We can’t survive on the bonus, we need a bigger percentage of the pension. Our children help us, but life has made everything more expensive, and the bonus is not enough,” says a pensioner.

Pensioners require that the bonus they receive be combined with the pension and distributed monthly. Despite the spring and year-end bonuses, the amount is insufficient to meet daily costs, as well as to cover health expenses.

In this way, pensioners hope that they can have a greater impact on improving their living conditions and manage to cope with the difficulties of everyday life.