Municipalities warn of financial strain as state funding for elderly care stagnates

The Association of Faroese Municipalities has cautioned that state funding for elderly care will not increase this year, forcing local governments to cover rising costs themselves, Kringvarp Føroya reports.

Elderly care in the Faroe Islands is administered by municipalities, which receive financial support from the central government. This funding is tied to pension adjustments and has historically kept pace with wage growth in the sector. However, the fixed indexed pension supplement—used to calculate state contributions—has now reached 12 percent and will not rise further.

Eyðun Christiansen, director of the Association of Faroese Municipalities, warned that municipalities may have to draw from their own budgets to fund wage increases for elderly care workers. Without additional state support, some municipalities risk severe financial pressure.

The report follows a segment on the Dagin og vikan program addressing the issue.