Estonian reservist: daily allowance does not cover lost wages
In an opinion piece for ERR News, reservist Karl Lumiste argues that Estonia's daily allowances for reservists in training are lower than the wages they lose. He calls for a substantial increase.
Estonian reservist Karl Lumiste argues in an opinion piece for ERR News that growing defense spending is of little use without motivated reservists. In his view, reservists, whom he describes as the backbone of national defense, receive the smallest share of the defense budget. This is the author's opinion rather than a news report.
Allowance levels
Following an appeal by the chancellor of justice, then Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur raised reservist allowances in 2025 after they had stayed unchanged for years. Even so, in a survey during Exercise Hedgehog 2025, only slightly more than half of reservists rated the allowances as very or somewhat good.
Since 2025, reservists at training exercises receive €55 per day if enlisted, €60 if noncommissioned officers and €75 if officers. In periods of heightened defense readiness, the rates are €75, €80 and €100. Lumiste considers this inadequate, as lost wages are the main obstacle to attending exercises.
The calculation
The median wage in Estonia is €1,840 per month. By the author's calculation, an enlisted reservist spending a week at an exercise loses five working days of pay, or €460, assuming €92 per day and 20 working days a month. The state allowance for seven days, including the weekend, is €385. That leaves a net loss of €75, and people earning above the median lose more.
The author's conclusions
Lumiste says allowances should be substantially higher so that reservists attend willingly and feel valued. He notes that Estonia's defense spending has risen to 5.4 percent of GDP, or €2.4 billion, for 2026, so the state should not have to seek money through the Reservists' Fund to buy equipment and support reservists. The state, he writes, should ensure decent compensation rather than rely on employers' goodwill.
