Living on €213 a month: reader's disability pension highlights broader poverty among Latvia's elderly

A reader named Kalvis wrote to LA.LV describing life after three heart attacks, the most recent a cerebral infarction this past February, which left him unable to work as before. Alongside heart complications, he has been diagnosed with nine chronic conditions, including heart failure, atrial fibrillation, diabetes and bronchial asthma. He has been assigned Category III disability status and receives a pension of €213 per month. Kalvis says that when he raised the possibility of a higher Category II disability grade, he was told his only path to more money would be needing a wheelchair.

He contrasts his situation with his mother's pension. She worked 53 years, including as a lecturer at Riga Technical University, and now receives €988 a month. Kalvis notes that even a larger pension doesn't erase the burden of medication and doctor visits, since private specialist consultations that once cost around €45 now run €65 to €90.

What the numbers show

The €213 figure matches the minimum Category III disability pension set for 2026. The Category II minimum is €298.20, and Category I is €340.80. The average disability pension paid in 2025 was around €316, with more than half of recipients getting between €200 and €300 a month.

More broadly, 22% of Latvia's population was at risk of poverty in 2024, but among people aged 65 and older that share rose to 41.7%, and specifically among pensioners in that age group, to 49.7%. Even the average old-age pension, about €616 in 2025, falls below the 2024 poverty-risk threshold of €699 for a single-person household.

Pensions will be indexed starting October 1, with disability pensions rising 4.24%, though income above €1,000 remains subject to personal income tax.