Association of pensioners MUH said on Monday, marking the International Day of Older Persons on October 1, that the planned pension reform should focus on dealing with the problem of poverty, and help change pension indexation rules to make sure pension growth no longer lagged behind salary growth so significantly.

MUH, the largest Croatian pensioners’ association, also proposed a reform of the 2nd pension pillar which is privately run, noting that priority should be given to the 1st, state-funded, pension pillar, from which current pensioners receive their allowances. They called for the system to allow insurees wishing to transfer their pension savings from the 2nd to the 1st pension pillar in order to obtain the right to a government-funded pension supplement.

The association also called on the government and parliament, as well as all social partners, to adopt a declaration on fundamental, inalienable rights of elderly people, thus making it possible to find long-term solutions that would lead to the creation of more stable and safer living conditions for the elderly.

The Ministry of Social Policy marked the day with a statement saying that Croatia is an old people society, and is around the EU average in terms of population age, with people above the age of 65 accounting for around 19 percent of the total population.

The ministry said it recognises problems faced by older people and their need for different types of social support and services, and said it actively promotes existing types of care for the elderly and looking for new ones, notably those that encourage older people to stay in their own homes and with their families.

In 1990, the United Nations General Assembly designated October 1 as the International Day of Older Persons in order to raise awareness of the need to adjust the social environment to the needs and capabilities of older people.

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