In the next year's state budget, 14,32 million euros have been allocated for the payment of old-age benefits and agricultural insurance.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management told "Vijesta" this, from which they state that the determined amount is at this year's level.
According to the data, there are 3550 users, while the fee per user is 315 euros.
"The number of beneficiaries of old-age allowances did not change in the last quarter (October-December) of 2024. So we expect that trend in 2025 as well. At the end of 2021, there were about 3200 users in the system, and now there are 3550 users, so there was an increase of 11% for the mentioned period of three years", they said in this government department.
It was clarified that the fee will remain at 315 euros per user, and if the minimum pension were to increase, the Ministry of Finance would provide the missing money from the current budget reserve.
"The Government's announcement is that the minimum pension will remain at the same level, and therefore the old-age benefit will remain at the same level," explained the Ministry of Agriculture.
The head of an agricultural household is entitled to old-age allowance if he is older than 65 years (for men) or 60 years (for women), lives in the countryside, is engaged in agriculture and does not receive income on any other basis.
This allowance is defined by the Law on Agriculture, and since 2015 it has been tied to the level of 50 percent of the minimum pension. In 2021, this limit was increased to 70 percent of the minimum pension, at the suggestion of the representatives of Democratic Montenegro.
As this limit for calculation was simultaneously increased by the changes in the law, as well as the amount of the minimum pension itself, the amount of this compensation had a significant increase.
In 2020, the old-age allowance amounted to 64,41 euros, in 2021 it was 72,89 euros, in 2022 it was 177 euros, in 2023 it was 207 euros, and in 2024 it was 315 euros, because the minimum pension limit of 1 increased to 450 euros in January this year.
Two years ago, the United Nations Development Office (UNDP) in its report "Study of Material Benefits for Priority Changes to the Law on Social and Child Protection" listed old-age benefits as one of the problems in the social protection system.
They then concluded that this fee is an excess because its users should receive material security, burden the agricultural budget and create differences in the system of social benefits.
"The conditions for the realization of the right to material security and the conditions for the realization of the right to the old-age benefit overlap in certain parts (years of life, income), while the other part of the conditions are mutually exclusive (land, livestock)", it was stated in the UNDP report. .
For the purposes of this analysis, they also cross-referenced the data on beneficiaries of the old-age benefit with the data on beneficiaries of material security over the age of 67. Ma. M. - MK
In 2020, the old-age allowance amounted to 64,41 euros, in 2021 it was 72,89 euros, in 2022 it was 177 euros, in 2023 it was 207 euros, and in 2024 it was 315 euros, because the minimum pension limit of 1 increased to 450 euros in January this year.
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