The Croatian Pension Insurance Institute (HZMO) said on Tuesday the payment of a national allowance for older persons for January would begin on 17 February and that 3,091 beneficiaries would each receive HRK 800.

The amount of HRK 2,195,146 has been earmarked for that in the state budget. Of the beneficiaries, 64.54% are women.

By 31 January, the HZMO received 6,822 applications for the allowance, of which 1,507 are still being processed. The beneficiaries are people who qualify under the law on the national allowance for older persons.

Between 15 December and 15 February, 7,347 applications were submitted, including 525 this month.

The HZMO said that eligible are people who are Croatian citizens aged 65 and older who have been residing in Croatia for 20 years without interruption before applying for the allowance.

That is the basic requirement. The others are that the person does not receive a pension and that their monthly income or the income of their household in the previous calendar year was not above HRK 800 per household member.

The monthly allowance of HRK 800, popularly called the national pension, has been designed for the most vulnerable part of the population, citizens aged 65 and older who have not ensured an income for their old age and do not qualify for pension.