The average pension of a former soldier, police officer or SRI officer is over 2.3 times the public-system average, and comes from a different budget
Since 2016, state military pensions have no longer been paid from the social insurance budget but directly from the budgets of MApN, MAI and SRI. The pension system deficit already exceeded, in 2025, the level the Fiscal Council was projecting only for 2028.
The ROptimizaRE editorial team · 6 min read · updated 15 October 2026
In short
- The average monthly pension of beneficiaries in defence, public order and national security (MApN, MAI, SRI) was, in 2025, 6,586 lei, more than 2.3 times the average of pensions from the state social insurance budget (2,814 lei)[1]
- Since January 2016 the funds for state military pensions come from the budgets of the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the SRI, not from the social insurance budget, a legislative change that separates them in the accounts from the rest of the system[1]
- The social insurance budget deficit (including special/service pensions) reached 52.4 billion lei in 2025, already exceeding the 54.9 billion lei level that the Ministry of Finance projected, in 2024, only for 2028[1]
- Total social assistance spending reached 250.9 billion lei in 2025, 12% more than in 2024, amid the annualised impact of the September 2024 pension recalculation[1]
An average pension of 6,586 lei, paid from a different budget
Romania's public pension system is not monolithic. Besides pensions from the state social insurance budget (the former ordinary employee) and those of farmer pensioners, there is a distinct category: state military pensions, for personnel of the Ministry of National Defence (MApN), the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI) and the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI). Under Law no. 223/2015, from 1 January 2016 these pensions are no longer paid from the state social insurance budget but directly from the budgets of the three institutions[1].
| Category | Average monthly pension 2025 | 2024 | Source of funding |
|---|---|---|---|
| MApN, MAI, SRI pensions | 6,586 lei | 6,330 lei | The budgets of the three institutions |
| Pensions, state social insurance budget | 2,814 lei | 2,459 lei | The state social insurance budget |
| Pensions, farmers' social insurance | 1,041 lei | 918 lei | The state social insurance budget |
| Overall average, all categories | 2,937 lei | 2,581 lei | — |
The average pension of beneficiaries in defence, public order and national security rose by 256 lei (4%) in 2025, a slower pace than the average pension from the state social insurance budget (+13.8%), amid the annualised impact of the September 2024 recalculation. Over the long term, between 2010 and 2025, the average pension in the military system rose by about 236%, compared with 310% for the average pension from the state social insurance budget; the relative gap narrowed slightly but remains considerable in absolute terms: almost 3,800 lei of monthly difference[1].
The pension system deficit, faster than any projection
Social insurance budget deficit (incl. special/service pensions), 2025
52.4bn lei
Year 2025 · source[1]
Up by 12.7 billion lei from 2024 (39.7 billion lei), more than 5 times the historic low of 9.7 billion lei in 2019.
Total social assistance spending, 2025 execution
250.9bn lei
Year 2025 · source[1]
8.6 billion lei above the initial planned budget (242.3 billion lei) and 12% above the 2024 execution.
A share that remains among the highest in the EU
In 2025 Romania remained in 17th place among EU member states by the share of social assistance spending in total budget revenue, the same position as in 2024. The share fell slightly, by 0.7 percentage points, but only because budget revenue grew faster than social assistance spending in that particular year, not because this spending decreased[1].
Sources
Primary official sources; where we use the press (only when the official document is not public) we mark it. The links lead to the original document or to the report cited (titles are translated; the documents themselves are in Romanian unless stated).
- [1]
Fiscal Council of Romania — Annual report 2025 — We must repair public finances (in Romanian) (published 7 September 2026; updates the figures in cf-raport-anual-2024 (pensions, the social insurance budget deficit, public debt); mentions the fall of the Bolojan Government in May 2026 through a no-confidence motion)
Published 7 September 2026 · Accessed 15 October 2026 · the original document(opens in a new tab)
This is a translation of the Romanian article, which prevails. Source titles are translated for convenience; the documents themselves are in Romanian unless stated.