As the daughter of a partisan and a deportee, these people matter a lot to me, so in both the previous and current terms of the Seimas, I have sought and continue to seek to secure their right to a higher state pension for affected persons, as well as state-funded medical and social rehabilitation services.
In the previous term, the Lithuanian Seimas approved amendments to the Law on the Legal Status of Persons Affected by Occupations from 1939–1990, which I initiated. According to these amendments, persons born in families of former political prisoners or deportees outside Lithuania, after the period of their parents’ imprisonment or exile ended, if at least one parent was subject to administrative or other restrictions that prevented them from returning to Lithuania, are granted the status of deportee.
On August 17 of this year, I registered a draft law to amend Articles 8 and 13 of the State Pensions Law. I will strive for the Seimas to consider this draft during the autumn session.
If approved, the state pension amount for political prisoners, deportees, and other affected persons will increase by 111 euros to 259.98 EUR.
The main goal of the submitted draft is to ensure fairer state support for persons currently receiving the lowest state pensions for affected persons, while reducing the gap in pension-type benefits, knowing that political prisoners, deportees, and those who returned to live in Soviet-occupied Lithuania faced restrictions on obtaining higher education and better-paid jobs, which resulted in lower old-age pensions for this group.
I want to remind that in Lithuania, state pensions are paid to persons with merits to the country, representatives of certain professions, affected persons, and their families. Currently, the lowest state pension paid is 148.56 EUR – to affected persons, while the highest reach 1237.50 EUR – to the President’s spouse, and 1362.60 EUR – the average state pension for judges.
Pensions would also increase accordingly for affected persons who lost participation (working capacity) due to political repressions: those who lost 75% or more participation (working capacity) – 334.26 EUR; those who lost 60–70% participation (working capacity) – 304.55 EUR; those who lost 45–55% participation (working capacity) – 274.84 EUR.
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In the previous term, not all planned work was completed. So on March 12 of this year, immediately after the oath of office of the Seimas member, in a gathering of comrades, friends, and relatives, I noted that my priority is preserving the memory of Lithuania’s freedom struggles, ensuring a dignified life for political prisoners, deportees, partisans, and other persons affected by occupations, and similar issues.
My goals in this term, apart from work in the Committees on Rural Affairs and Future:
increase the amount of state pensions paid to affected persons; provide political prisoners, deportees, and partisans the opportunity to receive free sanatorium treatment once a year; enable mothers (fathers) deportees who have raised five or more children to receive not one but two state pensions; comprehensively improve the accessibility and quality of social services provided to affected persons.
I am actively investigating other cultural, healthcare, transport, social services, and other needs of affected persons to increase the number of benefits provided to them, thereby showing the state’s attention and gratitude.
At my request, the Research Department of the Information and Communication Department of the Seimas Chancellery conducted an analytical review, a comparative study on the legal aspects of status granting, benefits, and social guarantees for persons affected by occupations in Estonia, Latvia, Poland, and Lithuania. I will use the information from this study as good practice from countries close to us, also affected by occupations, to establish additional benefits for these persons.
I hope that people affected by occupations will be listened to and heard.
Cooperating with executive institutions, I will seek all possible solutions to help ensure that the old age of people who endured the Siberian cold, hunger, loss, torture, and humiliation by occupiers and their henchmen is dignified.
