Government Approves Normative Act Amending the 2026 Budget, Pension Indexation and Increased Social and Healthcare Support to Begin on July 1st

The government has approved a Normative Act that will change the state budget for 2026. According to Minister of Finance Petrit Malaj, the changes are the result of the economy’s strong performance in the first five months of the year and are intended to strengthen social support, increase investment in healthcare, fulfill Albania’s NATO commitments, and expand financial support for businesses.
One of the important initiatives is pension indexation, which will take effect on July 1, 2026, with an additional 872 million ALL allocation. The changes also call for a doubling of payments for disabled children, backed by an additional 750 million ALL in cash, which will help 10,720 youngsters. The law will go into effect on July 1, 2026. In addition, the state will fund social security and health insurance contributions for caretakers of people with impairments, costing around 2 billion ALL.
In the healthcare sector, an additional 1.5 billion ALL will be set aside for the purchase of oncology medications and the enhancement of hospital services. The Normative Act also includes increases in salaries for doctors and emergency medical professionals, as well as increased resources to compensate 1,250 firefighters for overtime work.
The defense industry will get an additional 10.3 billion ALL, raising total defense spending to 2.6% of GDP. According to Minister Malaj, the cash will allow Albania to satisfy its NATO commitments while also helping to modernize and reinforce the country’s Armed Forces.
The budget adjustments also include an increase of the sovereign guarantee program for businesses. The fund will be increased from 3 billion ALL to 5 billion ALL, with recipients ranging from farmers to small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) functioning in a variety of sectors of the economy.