The Croatian Pensioners' Union (SUH) and the National Pensioners' Convention of Croatia (MUH), dissatisfied with the amendments to the Debt Enforcement Act, recommended on Friday that enforcement of senior citizens' entire pension be made impossible.

SUH and MUH said that they were against most of the amendments as they were merely a partial solution to the debt enforcement problem so they had given their recommendations.

They recommend that debtors be allowed to repay the principal first and then the interest, otherwise they would never repay their debt.

They want the Croatian poverty line, a monthly income of HRK 2,710, to be introduced as an universal limit below which debt enforcement would not be carried out.

According to SUH and MUH, enforcement of senior citizens’ entire pension should not be possible and enforcement should be limited to a quarter of their income, or the national poverty line.

The pensioners’ associations also call for the enforcement proceedings to be conducted by courts instead of by notaries public, and that they become faster, cheaper and more transparent.

There are nearly 850,000 citizens aged over 65 in Croatia, and the at-risk-of-poverty rate for that age group is as much as 30.1% compared to 18.3% for general population. Single persons aged over 65 are in the most difficult situation (50.3%).

The average pension in July 2020 was HRK 2,525, which is 37.4% of the average net wage.

SUH and MUH expressed concern that the moratorium on debt enforcement had not been extended since it ended at a time when the coronavirus pandemic situation was worsening and the number of infections was rising.