The Government of Janez Janša did not forget about the pensioners in the anti-corona legislative packages. It provided two solidarity allowances for the pensioners with the lowest pensions. The fact that the aid in the form of solidarity allowances was more than justified was clearly shown by the data gathered in the SDS public opinion poll, named “Consultation with the Voters” (Posve z volivci), in which as many as 80 percent of the respondents answered that they believe providing financial aid during the coronavirus epidemic was the right thing to do. Retirees were often overlooked during the times of the left-wing governments, even during the economic boom.
This year, the Slovenian Democratic Party has once again organised the practically traditional “Consultation with the Voters” (Posvet z volivci) poll, with which it wants to obtain the opinion of the citizens on current events in Slovenia. The SDS party wants to hear from the people so that they can create solutions based on their opinions and thus improve the standard of living in Slovenia. More than 27 thousand respondents took part in this year’s public opinion poll, which means that this is a survey with the largest sample by far.
The solidarity allowance was received by more than 300 thousand retirees with low pensions. The pensioners whose pensions are lower than 510 euros received two solidarity allowances of 300 euros each. In total, they received 600 additional euros. The pensioners who receive pensions that amount to anywhere between 510.01 and 612 euros received a total of 460 euros of solidarity allowance, or 230 euros twice. Solidarity allowances were also given to the retirees with pensions between 612.01 and 714 euros. They received 130 euros twice, so they received a total of 260 euros.
In the “Consultation with the Voters” poll, Slovenians were asked whether or not they thought such help was justified. 80 percent of the respondents believe that the solidarity allowances were justified during the corona crisis, while the remaining 20 percent do not agree.
Sara Kovač
