ZAGREB, March 20, 2019 – Labour and Pension System Minister Marko Pavić on Tuesday dismissed trade unions’ statement about the pension reform referendum as an attempt to score cheap political points for the forthcoming European Parliament election.
He added that it was an orchestrated attempt by the opposition and trade unions to misinform the Croatian public and destabilise the pension system.
The trade union initiative “67 is too much”, which is opposed to the proposed retirement age of 67, announced on Monday that they would be gathering signatures for a referendum on this matter from April 27 to May 11. It said that the referendum question would propose restoring the statutory retirement age to 65 years.
Pavić said that not all future pensioners would have to work until 67 years of age, recalling that the option of working until 67 years was already provided in a law of 2014, and that with the comprehensive pension reform “the government is only accelerating this process to the year 2033.”
The minister recalled that there was an institute of the long-term insured which enables those entering the labour market young, such as construction workers and store cashiers, to retire at the age of 60, once having completed 41 years of service. Students attending universities until the age of 24 will be able to retire at the age of 65, while those who did not manage to complete 41 years of service will retire at the age of 67.
Pavić also said that the average pensioner in Croatia had 30 years and two months of service, while the European average was 35 years.
“Annually, Croatia sets aside 40 billion kuna for pensions and is 18 billion kuna short. This figure will keep growing. We are aware that pensions are low but we also have to stabilise the system so we don’t leave debts to our children and grandchildren,” Pavić said.
More news on the pension system can be found in the Business section.
