BUDAPEST, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- In 2019, pensions will be raised by 2.7 percent in Hungary, and the higher sums will start to arrive on pensioners' bank accounts on Jan. 11, Bence Retvari, parliamentary state secretary at the Ministry of Human Capacities, told a press conference here on Friday.

"For an average pensioner, the increase will be about 42,000 forints (148 U.S. dollars) per year," Retvari said. The measure affects 2.5 million pensioners, or roughly one quarter of Hungary's population.

"Since we came to power in 2010, our government has undertaken the challenge of preserving the purchasing power of pensions," Retvari underlined.

"The government had not only succeeded in keeping its promise but achieved even more by giving back to pensioners more than their original purchasing value," he said, explaining that pensions have risen by 33 percent since 2010. After deductions for inflation, this equalled an increase in purchasing power of around 10 percent, meaning that pensions were worth much more.

The average pension in Hungary was 130,000 forints (460 U.S. dollars) per month in 2018.