Skopje, 23 November 2023 (MIA) — In over a year, pensions grew by more than 25 percent, in line with rising inflation and average salary increases, according to Minister of Labor and Social Policy Jovanka Trenchevska in a TV appearance Thursday marking national Elderly Care Week.

Interviewed for the Sloboden Pechat morning show, Minister Trenchevska spoke about nursing homes nationwide and home care services organized by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy to help senior citizens.

"We should not take care of the elderly only during Elderly Care Week, but every day," Trenchevska said, adding that one of the ways the state was doing this was by making capital investments into new assisted living facilities.

She said these facilities were under jurisdiction of the municipality they were located in. The state, however, was financing their construction after the municipality-submitted project applications had been approved by the Capital Investments Committee.

Trenchevska also announced that Probishtip and Kavadarci would get new nursing homes.

In addition, the labor minister said, the government would soon adopt new measures to help pensioners with the lowest incomes. mr/