Proportionate pensioners will submit certificates of all pensions

The Pension and Disability Insurance Fund did not respond to "Vijesti's" questions about what documentation will be required to receive the increased amount, and according to unofficial information, these are certificates of all pension amounts and copies of retirement decisions.

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Photo: Luka Zekovic
Photo: Luka Zekovic
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

After the adoption and publication of the amendments to the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance, the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund will inform proportional pensioners about the documentation they will need to submit in order to exercise the right to income compensation up to the minimum pension of 450 euros.

This was stated to "Vijesti" by the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund when asked whether so-called proportional pensioners should submit some documentation about their income from other countries to the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund or the Ministry of Social Welfare, so that they could receive an additional amount if their total income is less than the minimum pension amount.

What documentation is required

However, the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund has not clarified what documentation beneficiaries of the proportional pension will have to submit with their application for exercising their rights to this benefit, although the proposed amendments to the law regulating this issue state that the payment of the difference up to the minimum pension amount “will be made from the first day of the following month after the application is submitted”, which means that it is in the interest of beneficiaries to submit these applications as soon as possible in order to start receiving additional benefits as soon as possible. According to unofficial information from “Vijesti”, beneficiaries of the proportional pension will have to submit the following documentation with their application for payment of this benefit: a copy of their ID card, a certificate of residence, a certificate/certificate from a foreign insurance carrier on the amount of the pension, and if they receive a pension from more than one country, they will need to submit certificates/certificates from those countries and a copy of the decision on recognition of the right to a pension from a foreign insurance carrier.

Parliament session begins with bill proposal

The amendment to the Pension and Disability Insurance Act, which is on the agenda of the Parliament session that began yesterday after its unblocking, includes a proposal according to which proportional pensioners whose total pension is below the limit of 450 would receive compensation up to that amount.

"Given that the law is a normative act adopted by the Parliament of Montenegro in accordance with a specially determined procedure, we inform you that the draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance, which refers to proportional pensions, is in the adoption procedure in the Parliament of Montenegro. It is also necessary to take into account that the entire procedure ends with its publication in the Official Gazette of Montenegro, i.e. with its entry into force. After the completion of the above procedure, from the moment the law in question enters into force, the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund of Montenegro will, in accordance with its competences and the provisions of the Law, proceed with its implementation and inform citizens about the documentation required for the payment of the difference to the lowest pension amount, for beneficiaries of proportional pensions," the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund announced, without specifying what documentation will be required.

Around 3,5 thousand pensioners are waiting for a raise

In Montenegro, there are about 11 thousand proportional pensioners who are citizens of Montenegro, and who have gained their work experience in two or more former Yugoslav republics or other countries in the past decades, so they do not have a single work experience. They receive parts of their pensions from all those countries where they were employed and paid pension insurance contributions, and the rule on the minimum pension has not applied to them so far. According to previous data from the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund, about three and a half thousand proportional pensioners have a total sum of all pensions that is less than 450 euros and would be entitled to this compensation up to that amount.

Those who receive part of their pension in Montenegro do not receive it based on the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance, given that they did not have full working experience in Montenegro, but rather on the basis of interstate agreements that Montenegro has with those countries, which is why they have not been able to use the rights under the law on the minimum pension amount until now.

The proposed amendments to the law, which could be adopted in the next few days, state that an insured person who has acquired the right to a proportional pension in accordance with an international agreement, with permanent residence in the territory of Montenegro, is entitled to an amount equal to the difference to the lowest pension amount, if the amount of his pension determined under this law and foreign pensions calculated according to the applicable exchange rate on the day of submitting the request for payment of the difference is less than the amount of the lowest pension.

The government's explanation of the proposal states that it aims to improve the socio-economic position of beneficiaries of the proportional pension. It also states that the payment of these increased benefits will require approximately 5,5 million euros annually, provided for in the 2025 budget proposal, which is also on the agenda of the current parliamentary session.

Incorrect information in the application may result in criminal liability.

The Pension and Disability Insurance Fund unofficially told "Vijesti" that beneficiaries will have to state in their application/statement where they receive their pension and in what amounts, as well as to prove these claims with certificates/certificates from other pension funds.

This request and documentation will have the character of official documents, where any provision of false information would carry potential criminal liability.

Theoretically, a beneficiary who receives two or more pensions from other countries in addition to the Montenegrin one could hide some income in order to receive a larger amount of this benefit.

The Pension and Disability Insurance Fund will try to prevent such possibilities by including in agreements concluded with other countries the obligation of electronic exchange of data on pension income, which was not the case at the time.

The bill on the Assembly agenda states that the payment of the difference up to the minimum pension amount "will be made from the first day of the following month after the application is submitted," which means that it is in the interest of beneficiaries to submit these applications as soon as possible once the procedure begins.

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