More than three and a half thousand beneficiaries of allowances for mothers of three or more children switched to minimum pensions of 450 euros, announced the director of the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund, Ranko Aligrudić.
He said that only 98 beneficiaries were left without their January pension, because the Fund did not have time to process their requests.
In a guest appearance on the Television of Montenegro, Aligrudić said that the incorrect information published by the media was that the Fund did not provide solutions for 3.500 mothers of three or more children who returned from benefits to the minimum pension.
"Only 98 beneficiaries were left without that January pension, now they received it in February. So, because of the 98 subjects that we did not finish. And we sent a reply stating that we did not make it for those 98, and for these 3.500 we also finished what they would say, as we knew," he said, as reported by Portal RTCG.
He added that it costs the state about 20 million annually.
He pointed out that the planned budget will be sufficient to cover all amounts.
"We also calculated the remaining two increases, which will be on May 1 and September 1, in the amount of about three percent. These are some planned, projected increases, but they depend on official data and we are obliged to apply that," he said.
The Union of Associations of Pensioners of Montenegro sent a letter to the Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, the Minister of Labor and Social Welfare Naida Nišić, as well as the Director of the PIO Fund, Ranko Aligrudić, and other relevant authorities for the reform of the pension system. In addition to the request for urgent reform of the pension system, the Alliance made specific proposals for improving the standards of pensioners with sustainability and regularity of pension payments, as well as improving the social status of the demographic group.
Aligrudić explains that, if the pension and disability insurance system is reformed, many legal regulations must be changed.
"Until we change them, we are obliged to apply certain institutes, and these institutes must be applied. The method of adjustment, as determined, is legally prescribed that there are three regular adjustments every fourth month, the first of January, the first of May, the first of September, based on the parameters whose official data is published by Monstat as the only competent institution, we apply it. Of course, there were also extraordinary adjustments where we assessed and where we wanted to protect the standard of pensioners," he explains.
He said that the Fund will consider all suggestions because they can also go to the Ministry with suggestions.
He believes that it is too early to say how much the adjustment will be on May 1.
“The last adjustment was 2,08. That, pensioners say, is not a big adjustment for all pensions. With the fact that I have to emphasize that the beneficiaries of the lowest pensions, meaning over 40.000 of them, will not be adjusted in the next two years", said Aligrudić.
He believes that it is not good to adjust pensions to inflation because it can "eat" earnings and increases, so he believes that it is better to adjust them to the level of wages.
He emphasized that in the past year 2023, the PIO Fund's deficit, excluding the Fund's original income and PIO contributions, was 6,49 percent.
"It is the best result, I have been working for the Fund for 36 years, the best factual result when it comes to the collection of contributions and the original income of the Fund. In the last year 2023, 528 million were the original income of the Fund. Only 36,7 million was the PIO Fund deficit, what we took from the state budget. Or 6,49 percent," he explained.
This year, the budget is planned at 743 million.
"Drastically increased, quite understandably for the reason of this drastic increase. The lowest pension is 450 euros. A contribution is planned, based on the Fund's original income of 611 million. The deficit of the fund would be some 17,6 million," he said.
He believes that figures and forecasts are very problematic.
"The key thing is that the state is the guarantor of pension payments. It guarantees the payment of pensions and the regularity of payment. So they don't have to worry about that.
He emphasized that only Slovenia is ahead of us in terms of average pension, when it comes to the countries of the region.
"We also overtook the state of Croatia," he said.
In our country, the average pension with the last payment for the month of February is 488 euros.
He said that the Assembly will find a way when it comes to commensurate pensions.
"We are talking about some 3.000 users of proportional pensions. Universal pensions are those regulated by international treaties. These people have income from two or more countries. If the sum of their benefits is less than the lowest amount of pension, the PIO Fund, on our initiative, according to our proposal, should bring them up to the lowest amount of pension. It shouldn't be more than five and a half to six million euros per year," he said.
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