WILLEMSTAD – The Curaçao government has reserved an additional XCG 30 million in the 2027 budget to increase the purchasing power of AOV pensioners whose retirement income falls below what the government considers the social subsistence minimum.
The measure represents the beginning of a much larger multi-year commitment. According to the 2027 Budget Memorandum, the additional allocation will increase to XCG 50 million in 2028 and XCG 80 million annually in both 2029 and 2030.
The government says the money is specifically intended to provide an additional allowance on top of the existing AOV benefit for pensioners in the most vulnerable financial position.
According to the budget, persistent inflation and higher costs for basic necessities, utilities and medical care have left a significant group of elderly residents unable to cover their basic needs with the regular AOV pension alone.
The proposal therefore appears to take a targeted approach rather than simply using the entire allocation for an identical increase for every AOV recipient.
The precise amount individual pensioners would receive, the income threshold and the mechanism through which beneficiaries would qualify are not detailed in the section of the budget explaining the allocation.
The measure comes as the government is also confronting longer-term concerns about the financial sustainability of Curaçao’s social insurance system.
Updated projections from the Social Insurance Bank (SVB) show that the financial position of the Schommelfonds has deteriorated compared with previous forecasts. The budget says the latest projections require timely fiscal adjustments.
The additional AOV support will therefore become one of the most important social measures in the 2027 budget and is expected to receive considerable attention when Parliament begins debating the spending plan.