Czech state budget: pay and pension rises for teachers and retirees

The draft state budget for next year, which the Chamber of Deputies is already debating, provides for higher wages and pensions. The state plans to spend 426.3 billion crowns on pay, including mandatory contributions. According to the Finance Ministry, the average public-sector wage will rise by 6.8 percent to 58,130 crowns.

Compared with this year’s approved budget, that is 33.9 billion more, Finance Ministry spokeswoman Gabriela Krušinová said. Wages themselves, without contributions, will come to 316.1 billion crowns, which is 25.1 billion more. An average increase does not mean everyone will get that much: the outcome depends on the profession, pay grade and current pay.

Who gets the biggest raise

People on low incomes and new entrants to the workforce will gain the most. The pay system itself will change: the lowest tariff will be brought level with the minimum wage, the gap between grades will be at least 4 percent, and the number of steps will be cut from 12 to eight. According to the Ministry of Labour, the new tables will affect about 858,000 public-sector workers.

For teachers, Krušinová said, the budget guarantees the 130 percent of the average wage set by law (based on 2025 data). As a result, the average pay of teachers in regional education will rise by 6 percent, or 3,600 crowns, to 63,269 crowns. The Ministry of Education promises to present the exact tariffs for teachers next week, after talks with the unions.

Unions representing hospital and ambulance staff are demanding a rise of at least 6 percent, and the negotiations are not closed, said Dagmar Žitníková, head of the healthcare union. The Health Ministry replied that the demand would worsen the deficit of public health insurance and that it could not be accommodated in the draft. The state is, however, raising its payments for insured people by 16.5 billion to 174.2 billion crowns, and the whole system will reach 605 billion.

Base tariffs for non-teaching school staff, cultural workers and civil servants will go up by 3,040–10,160 crowns a month, by an average of 6,620 crowns. For social workers and nurses the range is from zero to 8,330 crowns, with an average of 3,375 crowns, so some may see no increase in base pay at all. In addition, employers may in some cases cut personal bonuses. Police officers and firefighters will receive 2,400 crowns more on their tariffs from January, plus another 500 crowns for overtime.

How much Czechs earn on average

• The average wage rose by 6.4 percent in the second quarter to 51,966 crowns.
• According to the Czech Statistical Office, workers earned 3,105 crowns more on average than a year earlier.
• Adjusted for inflation of two percent, the real increase was 4.3 percent.

Pensions and the one-off payment for pensioners

Budget spending on pensions will reach 762.8 billion crowns, 23.2 billion more than this year. The average old-age pension will rise by 304 crowns from January to about 22,196 crowns a month. In addition, pensioners will receive a one-off payment of two thousand crowns in January, costing about 5.5 billion.

The opposition ODS proposes skipping this payment because of the tight budget, with its deficit of 386 billion crowns. By its estimate, the state would save another 2.6 billion by not raising pensions above the standard increase for people over 80, as planned laws provide.

Around Prague guide on the topic: Minimum and average wage in Czechia 2026

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz