ZAGREB, September 4, 2019 – A task force led by the Labour and Pension System Ministry is conducting an analysis aimed at preparing the ground for introducing a national pension allowance, the Večernji List (VL) daily reported on Wednesday.
The task force has recently sent invitations to social workers, academicians and pension associations to join it in efforts to prepare a framework for the application of the national pension allowance.
Labour and Pension Minister Josip Aldrović was quoted by the daily newspaper as saying that the task force is expected to outline qualifying criteria for eligibility.
Some experts advise that the term permanent social welfare allowance should replace the term national pension as that allowance is actually a social welfare benefit.
The legislative framework is to be elaborated in 2020, and the allocation of this social benefit is likely to start in 2021.
Persons eligible for this allowance in form of a state pension will be senior citizens with no steady financial income, and currently experts are discussing whether the starting age for receiving the state pension will be 65 or 67.
The number of potential beneficiaries depends on the criteria for eligibility. According to some estimates there can be between 85,000 and 40,000 users of this social welfare benefit.
The introduction of a national pension allowance for elderly citizens in need is one of the pre-election promises of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).
More news about pensions in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.
