Czechia to cut pensions for hundreds of former Communist Party and StB officials from November

From 1 November, Czechia will cut pensions for another group of former officials of the communist regime — this time affecting mid-level party functionaries and officers of the StB state security service. The lists of affected individuals were compiled by experts from the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes (ÚSTR), according to the institute's first deputy director, Kamil Nedvědický.

This marks a continuation of a process launched in spring 2024, when pensions were first cut for 177 top-level regime officials — by an average of 1,500 crowns a month. That measure was largely symbolic, since these individuals had been drawing pensions well above the average of the time. This time, the cuts will apply to several thousand people identified through archival research, though in practice only a few hundred will actually see their pensions reduced — many former officials have already died.

Who will be affected

The lists include members of the Central Control and Audit Commission, heads of departments within the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia's Central Committee, chiefs of staff of the People's Militia in the regions and districts, as well as regional and district ideological secretaries — the people who decided who could study, where people could work, and who would become a target of repression. A separate category covers church secretaries, who suppressed religious life, along with officers of the StB, the State Public Security Service, and the Border Guard.

According to Nedvědický, tracking down information on regional officials proved especially labor-intensive, requiring researchers to comb through regional party newspapers and dig through local archives to establish who held which position and for how long. Pensions will be reduced by 300 crowns a month for every year — or part of a year — spent in the relevant post, with the cuts taking effect from 1 November. The institute will continue refining and expanding the lists until the end of August next year.

Why only now, and what about appeals?

Nedvědický admitted that it would have made more sense to pass such a law back in the 1990s, but at the time there was insufficient political will — the Communist Party was long regarded as an acceptable coalition partner. In Slovakia, a similar law failed entirely: the constitutional court struck it down as overly broad, since it would have affected even drivers and cleaners employed by the Central Committee's apparatus. The Czech lawmakers took this lesson on board and limited the list to those who genuinely helped sustain the totalitarian regime.

The institute expects that some of those affected will take the matter to court, so archival documentation confirming each person's position and period of service is being prepared in advance. The main selection criterion was that most of those on the list failed the post-1989 lustration checks and were therefore barred from continuing to work in the army, police, or public administration.

Meanwhile, pensions for victims of the regime are rising

While pensions for former officials are being cut, payments to victims of the communist regime — dissidents and political prisoners who once struggled to find work and whose pensions have remained extremely low — are increasing. Since 2024, the institute's director has been able to submit, on their own initiative, applications recognizing someone as a participant in the resistance to communism on behalf of people unable to do so themselves due to age, health, or other reasons. Those granted this status have their pensions raised to the national average, which for many represents a substantial increase in income.

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz