The Ministry of Welfare has proposed amendments to the Pension Law regarding burial benefits. The Minister of Welfare, Reinis Uzulnieks (SCP), discussed what these changes entail on the TV24 channel, reports nra.lv.
According to the minister, this concerns technical amendments. "There have been statements in the public space about a possible introduction of a cap on pensions, but we will start with burial benefits and benefits for surviving spouses, and this will only affect new pensioners. There was no such cap before," said the Minister of Welfare.
"If a partner or spouse dies, the burial benefit is paid in the amount of two pensions of that pensioner. We have set a pension cap – it will be 8,700 euros, accordingly, the cap for what can be received for funerals will be 17,000 euros," explained Uzulnieks.
It is noted that, according to the State Social Insurance Agency, one of the largest pensions in Latvia amounts to 43,000 per month. The death of such a pensioner is costly for the state budget. It is obvious that in order to save money, Minister Uzulnieks decided to introduce caps on funeral payments.
A limit is also being set for the benefit for the surviving spouse, which is paid for six months and will amount to half of the pension, but no more than 4,000 euros, the minister added.
