August the 7th, 2026 – There is set to be a new pension increase for Croatian defenders, but what will the situation be for those who did continue working after the war ended?
Index reports that the government has now presented a new model for increasing defenders’ pensions, which should apply from the 1st of January 2027 if the legislative amendments pass in Parliament. Among the beneficiaries covered by the changes are also defenders who returned to work after the war.
A defender who returned to work after the war and later retired under the old-age pension scheme basically receives a pension calculated in the same way as other workers, according to years of service and salaries. Then, as a defender, the pension is additionally increased depending on the time spent in the war, especially in the combat sector.
The position of these defenders was precisely one of the main reasons why Možemo demanded a change in the calculation method that would raise the pensions of the covered beneficiaries by up to 20 percent.
The Government today presented a different model under which the new supplement depends directly on the wartime service record. For every month spent in the combat sector the pension would be higher by three euros per month, and for a month in the non-combat sector by 50 cents.
Around 68,000 defenders are drawing pensions from the general system
In the refined proposal by Možemo, 68,561 beneficiaries are listed whose pensions are calculated primarily according to the rules of the general pension system, but with the application of defenders’ rights. On average they had around 31 years of service, and the average pension amounted to 668.37 euros.
The Ministry today presented a very similar current figure of 68,269 beneficiaries in that category.
Možemo intended its proposal primarily for defenders who returned to the labour market after the war and proposed an increase in the starting factor, which could raise their pensions by up to 20 percent. A higher factor would also apply when determining the lowest defenders’ pension.
The Government’s supplement is calculated completely differently. Its amount does not depend on the amount of the current pension, but on the number of months spent in the war and whether it was in the combat or non-combat sector.
what would an actual concrete example of that look like?
Let us take a simplified example of a defender who today receives 668.37 euros, which is the average pension of the mentioned group. If we assume that under the Možemo proposal he would achieve the full 20 percent increase, he would receive around 134 euros more per month, meaning his pension would rise to around 802 euros. Under the Croatian Government’s model, the increase would depend on the length of combat service.
In this concrete example the Government’s supplement would overtake the 20 percent increase after approximately three years and nine months spent in the combat sector.
This isn’t a universal threshold. For every defender, everything depends on their current pension and how large an increase that individual would achieve under the Možemo proposal. In this example, for simplicity, it was assumed that the person did not participate in the non-combat sector.
The length of participation in the war already today affects certain defenders’ pension rights. The Možemo proposal would not change that, but the new increase would not depend directly on whether someone spent one year or five years in the combat sector. Under the Government’s proposal that is precisely the main criterion for the new supplement. One year of combat service means 36 euros more per month, three years 108 euros, and five years 180 euros. The difference between the combat and non-combat sectors is also large. Five years in the non-combat sector would bring a monthly increase of 30 euros, while five years of combat service would bring 180 euros.
government proposals encompass a wider number of people
The Government’s increase isn’t intended only for defenders who continued working after the war. The Ministry announced today that the new supplement according to wartime service will be received by 104,560 defenders, while various proposed amendments would cover a total of 201,304 defenders and members of their families.
Defenders who continued working are thus included in the Government’s model, but they are not singled out as a special group. In other words, Možemo proposed an increase of up to 20 percent for a narrower circle of beneficiaries, while the Government proposes a supplement for a wider circle of defenders whose amount will depend directly on the number of months spent in the combat and non-combat sectors.
former pension reductions are also being scrapped
The Government also proposes the abolition of the pension reduction of 8 to 20 percent that is still applied to some retired soldiers, police officers and other authorised officials. This is a separate measure, distinct from the new supplement calculated according to the time spent in the Homeland War.
The abolition of the reduction should from 2027 cover around 34,000 beneficiaries, and the Ministry estimates that their pensions would as a result rise on average by around 70 euros per month. This measure is not limited only to defenders, but applies to all beneficiaries covered by that special pension regulation. The Government’s amendments have not yet been adopted. After public consultation they should be sent to the parliamentary procedure, and application is planned as of the 1st of January 2027.
