Pension System on the Brink of Collapse Despite Nearly 100,000 People Receiving an Average Pension of 232 Kuna

The Croatian Institute for Pension Insurance published in its latest issue of Statistical Information the status of insured persons and pensioners as of March 31, 2017.

The publication reveals that 95,069 pensioners receive an average monthly pension of 232.21 kuna, 183,073 pensioners receive a monthly pension of less than 1000 kuna, 314,859 pensioners receive less than 1500 kuna, and 541,812 pensioners have a monthly pension of less than 2000 kuna.

Considering the ratio of the number of insured persons (1,452,052) to the number of pensioners (1,139,779), its value is 1.27, which indicates an equalization of the number of insured persons and pensioners, warning of the collapse of the pension system, reports Slobodna Dalmacija.

The Minister of Labor and Pension Insurance, Marko Pavić, announced the finalization of the pension reform by the end of the year, but the question of what pensioners can expect from it remains open. The Croatian pension system is primarily burdened by an excessive number of pensioners, especially young and privileged ones. It is difficult to meet the demands of the European Commission such as raising the retirement age, increasing the penalties for early retirement, and reducing the number of occupations with privileged working years.

The new Law on Veterans hints at an increase in the number of pensioners: about 5,000 veterans have submitted a subsequent request for retirement based on disability.

The potential collapse of the pension system is a real possibility and should not surprise anyone. The last pension increase of 0.94 percent is absurd when we know that 95,069 pensioners received an increase of only 2.18 kuna on their average pension of 232.21 kuna, writes Slobodna.

The Law on the Rights of Croatian Veterans of the Homeland War and Members of Their Families, the Law on the Rights from Pension Insurance of Active Military Personnel, Police Officers, and Privileged Officials, as well as pensions according to the Agreement between the Republic of Croatia and BiH on Cooperation in the Field of Rights of War Victims in BiH who were members of the HVO and their families, have introduced an additional 93,118 pensioners into the system.

The HZMO publication regularly lacks essential data on how many pensioners secured their pensions through their work, i.e., full working years.

All authorities have largely ignored the improvement of the pension system so far. Data shows that as many as 272,741 pensioners are younger than 65 years. This publication does not reveal any new insights; it is known that after dubious and never-punished privatizations, people were left without jobs, and many were “pushed” into retirement, so now they must endure, as no one will be held accountable, concludes Slobodna.