PSD leading MPs Ciolacu, Simonis announce pre-term resignation from Parliament to let special pension go

Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) Marcel Ciolacu and the party's Lower House floor leader Alfred Simonis announced on Monday that they will resign from Parliament on the last day of their term in order to not receive special pension.

Ciolacu argued that the pension's only underlying principle must be a contribution-proportional benefit.

"I will resign from Parliament on the last day of my term in order to not receive a special pension. I did it four years ago, I will do the same now. The law stipulates that special pensions are granted only to those who have served at least one full term as MP. During my term, the PSD has taken a clear direction in addressing this gross injustice done to the millions of contributory pensioners. We initiated and passed the law according to which all special pensions in excess of 7,000 lei are taxed 85 percent. This is not enough, but it's the only constitutional option at the moment. I want us to succeed together in bringing down all those who have clambered on the financial Everest of special pensions. The Orban Government this year missed yet another good opportunity, when it refused to issue an emergency ordinance to scrap special pensions, a regulatory act that would have been applied immediately. Several billion lei saved this way would have been far more useful for Health in the fight against the pandemic or to prepare the schools so that students are able to carry on with the educational process," Ciolacu wrote on Facebook.

PSD Lower House floor leader Alfred Simonis also announced that he will resign in order to not qualify for special pension.

"I don't want a special pension! The pension must be the result of contribution, not of a position. I will therefore resign from Parliament on the last day of my term, so that I never receive a special pension! According to the law, special pensions are granted only if the MP has served at least one full term. I am not going to collect money I do not deserve. As a young politician, I think the time has come to impose a different mentality in politics, and fairness and honesty in front of people are principles that cannot be negotiated," Simonis wrote on Facebook.