Those who emigrate in time live like normal people, those who stay in Lithuania die of poverty: the poverty level in Lithuania is one of the highest in the entire EU, especially among the elderly

 

"Last year, 620 thousand people lived below the poverty risk threshold in Lithuania - 0.9 percent more than in 2023, the Lithuanian Data Agency (LDA) announces.

 

The absolute poverty level also jumped - from 3.6 percent in 2023 to 5.8 percent last year.

 

 According to Jekaterina Navickė, advisor to the Minister of Social Security and Labour, Lithuania's poverty statistics are one of the worst in the European Union (EU) - the figures are worse only in neighboring Latvia and Bulgaria.

 

"The published statistics only confirm what we have known for many years. The poverty level in Lithuania is high, one of the highest in the entire EU. (...) This confirms that the problem of poverty is not being solved, even with economic growth," the Ministry of Social Security and Labour (SADM) told journalists on Thursday representative.

 

The poverty risk threshold increased by 9.2 percent last year from 2023. – from 564 to 616 euros per person and from 1185 to 1294 euros for a family with two children under 14 years of age.

 

The absolute poverty threshold, at that time, increased from 354 to 446 euros per person, and from 743 to 937 euros for a family with 2 children under 14 years of age.

 

“In recent years, average salaries have grown quite rapidly, but our vulnerable groups, such as pensioners, people with disabilities, single parents with children – their incomes are growing much more slowly,” explained J. Navickė, explaining the reasons for the increased poverty among the relevant groups.

 

Seniors over 65 years of age remain the most impoverished in Lithuania – in 2024 36.9 percent of them were below the poverty risk threshold (0.8% increase since 2024). 17.3% of working-age adults and 19% of children lived below the poverty threshold.

 

“In Lithuania, we allocate a significantly smaller share of our gross domestic product (GDP) to social security compared to the EU, and the results are now visible in the statistics,” said the advisor to the head of the Social Security Administration, Inga Ruginienė.

 

True, LDA statistics show that social benefits helped some of the population avoid poverty – last year the poverty risk level before social benefits reached 29%, but after them it decreased to 21.5% (7.5% difference).

 

On the other hand, in 2023 they were more effective, since before them the poverty risk level was 29.4%, and after them – 20.6% (8.8% difference).

 

In 2024 social benefits were most beneficial for single parents with one or more children. Before social benefits, their poverty level reached 49.1 percent, and after them – 31.6 percent. (17.5 percent difference).

 

"The solution to the problem of poverty is extremely expensive and complex. You can't do it with benefits alone: ​​you also need services, improve infrastructure, education and health systems. True, benefits are very important for some groups – especially pensioners," said  Navickė.

 

The government will seek to increase the individual part of pensions

 

When asked whether pensions will increase and by how much, the representative of the Social Security and Family Welfare Department emphasized the goal of this government to increase the individual part of pensions – the one that depends on a person's income while he worked.

 

“This is and has been the priority of every government. In the last term, attention was paid to increasing the basic pension component, and we will prioritize the individual component. Last year, they were increased by only 1.4 percent. (…) We believe that the increase in pensions and its pace were insufficient. “Sodra” collects about 3 billion euros for pensions and, according to data from this and last year, 900 million of them will be directed to the reserve,” said Navickė.

 

“We will try to increase pensions as quickly and adequately as possible, paying special attention to their individual component,” says the advisor.

 

The gap between villages, towns and cities has increased

 

According to LDA data, 18 percent of the population in the city received a disposable income below the poverty risk threshold (in the five largest cities – 14.5 percent, in other cities – 24 percent), in the countryside – 29.4 percent. The poverty risk level in the city, compared to 2023, remained the same (in the five largest cities – decreased by 0.3 percent, in other cities – increased by 0.5 percent), and in the countryside – increased by 3.3 percent.

 

“We have large gaps between the countryside and the city – for some time now there has been talk of two or three different Lithuanias. True, this increase in the risk of poverty is encoded in rural areas, because they are aging – an increasing proportion of those living there are of retirement age and this is the main problem. Of course, employment, the opportunity to find a job, convenient transportation are also acute problems,” said J. Navickė.

 

In the 2025 Lithuanian budget, it was planned to allocate the largest part of it (about 29 percent) to social security – 6.721 billion euros. This amount constitutes 8.63 percent of last year's Lithuanian GDP, which amounted to 77.9 million euros.”

 

Scandinavian bank clerks, including Nausėda, shout that we have never lived so well in Lithuania. They are right, they have never lived so well, even though they were members of the Communist Party, and they will never live so well again. After the collapse of the common state with Poland, we became slaves, so only traitors to the Motherland, who adapt to serve any kind of aliens, live well in Lithuania.