Labour and Pension System Minister Marin Piletic expressed confidence in Parliament on Tuesday that the government would put forward a new model of pension indexation before the end of its term in office.

“I am confident the government will offer a new model before the end of its term, Piletic said during discussion on the proposal to amend the Pension Insurance Act, which aims to increase pension allowances, allow the use of a portion of the survivor’s pension and increase the lowest pensions.

He said that a task force was being set up to analyse the whole pension system.

Piletic said that the union and national convention of pensioners had also proposed a pension calculation model and that the proposal was being examined in cooperation with the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute (HZMO). “The pension reform is not cemented in stone,”  he noted.

MPs from the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) praised the new model as “a bold, reform-minded step”, while opposition lawmakers demanded answers to specific questions.

“As of 1 January 2023, 287,000 pensioners will get a monthly increase of 30 kuna. How did you arrive at this amount, that is the increase of 1.5 percent?” asked Boris Lalovac of the Social Democratic Party. “This will require 100 million kuna, which is insignificant given that the value of the entire package is 1.2 billion kuna,” he added.

“It’s not just 30 kuna,” Piletic responded, adding that among the recipients of the lowest pensions there were many beneficiaries of the survivor’s pension.

Davor Dretar (right-wing DP party) was not happy with this answer, demanding that the minister specify the increase for the recipients of the lowest pensions.

“I don’t have a specific number. It will not be 30, 250 or 510 kuna. We said ‘ on average’,” Piletic said, adding that the lowest pensions currently ranged between 1,090 and 3,000 kuna.

Noting that around 400,000 pensioners received pensions that were below the poverty line, Marin Lerotic (Istrian Democratic Party) wanted to know how many pensioners would manage to rise above the poverty line thanks to the new law.

“You can get specific figures only after applications for pension calculation have been submitted,” the minister replied.

(€1 = 7.5 kuna)