The Croatian Pensioners' Union on Friday called out President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic and Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic for not mentioning pensioners, "the most vulnerable" social group, when talking about the problems of various social groups, notably now ahead of elections.

As seen in the media, the unofficial presidential campaign has begun and there are more and more statements by the president and the prime minister about the problems of different social groups, but “not one pre-election promise mentions the most vulnerable – pensioners,” the union said in a press release.

It is incomprehensible that state leaders are ignoring more than 1.24 million pensioners and the fact that nearly half live below the Croatian poverty line, which is HRK 2,496 for a single person this year, the union said.

The average gross pension to average pay ratio is 27.7% and is the lowest in the EU, as a result of which one in three citizens over 65 live in poverty, the union said, adding that 98% of pensioners have pensions below the average pay.

The position is pensioners “is indeed humiliating” and the indifference of those in power has led to the social marginalisation of the elderly, the union said.