High inflation prompts government to raise retirement pensions

The government will probably raise retirement pensions in a response to high inflation, deputy Finance Minister Edvard Janota told Czech TV on Sunday. Retirement, disability and survivorship pensions in the Czech Republic are raised each year on January 1; this year they were increased by 3.9 percent, or 11 billion crowns. Mr Janota said the government will consider an extraordinary increase of the pensions by another five billion crowns, or more than 282 million US dollars.