ALGIERS, June 1 (Reuters) - Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has ordered a 2.5 percent increase in pensions for the country's 2.8 million retirees, state media reported, despite growing financial pressure after the fall in global oil prices.
Retirees benefited from the same 2.5 percent rise in 2016, but the new hike comes at a sensitive time as OPEC member Algeria copes with a sharp fall in energy revenue that forced it to cut spending and consider changes in its social system.
The government has already hinted at the possibility of reforming its subsidy system. It currently subsidises most goods such as food, medicine and energy.
It started last year implementing raises in prices for electricity, gas, gasoline and diesel for the first time in more than a decade. But government officials have repeatedly stressed that reforms will not affect the poor in a country where social peace has been a top priority for authorities.
(Reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed) ((hamid.ouldahmed@thomsonreuters.com;))
Keywords: ALGERIA ECONOMY/
