Old-age benefits for 3.400 beneficiaries will be paid after the adoption of the agricultural budget, which is currently being prepared. Farmers who were not paid these benefits at the end of last year due to documentation processing will receive them in a future calculation.
This was officially told to "Vijesti" by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, which is headed by Vladimir Jokovic.
The head of an agricultural household is entitled to an old-age benefit of 315 euros if he is over 65 years old (for men) or 60 years old (for women), lives in the countryside, is engaged in agriculture and does not receive income from any other source. At the beginning of August last year, the Ministry asked farmers to renew their documentation for these benefits, in order to reduce abuses in this sector and pay the money according to a system that suits them.
Several farmers told "Vijesti" that they had been paid the money in full on this basis and that they had no debts for last year, while some said that they had not received compensation since the fall of 2025.
The Ministry emphasized that in the cases of some farmers, they were waiting for documentation and its processing, but that the money would be paid out in the next settlement and that no one would be forgotten.
"The payment depends on the adoption of the agro-budget, after which the public will be informed in a timely manner about the date of the next payment. The payment of old-age benefits is financed through agro-budget measures - social transfers in agriculture. The funds will be paid upon the adoption of the agro-budget, within the framework of the corresponding measure. The preparation of the agro-budget is underway, and after its adoption, the final amount of funds earmarked for this purpose will be known, as well as the payment schedule. The renewal of documentation for old-age benefits, carried out during the previous year, has yielded concrete results. Currently, approximately 3.400 beneficiaries in Montenegro are entitled to old-age benefits. After updating the data, the number of beneficiaries has decreased by around 300 compared to the previous period, when around 3.700 persons used the benefit," the ministry emphasized.
They pointed out that they had conducted a detailed check of all beneficiaries, that the system had been further regulated and updated, and that it had been ensured that only those who met the legal requirements received compensation. They also added that the payment method had been improved, so that farmers could receive money through Prva Banka, in addition to the Post Office.
The Ministry said at the end of November last year that they had begun paying old-age benefits to almost 3.000 beneficiaries.
This benefit is defined by the Law on Agriculture, and since 2015 it has been tied to a level of 50 percent of the minimum pension. In 2021, this limit was increased to 70 percent of the minimum pension, at the proposal of the Democratic Party of Serbia. As the law amendments simultaneously increased this limit for calculation, as well as the amount of the minimum pension itself, the amount of this benefit has increased significantly.
In 2020, the old-age benefit amounted to 64,41 euros, in 2021 it was 72,89 euros, in 2022 it was 177 euros, in 2023 it was 207 euros, while since last year it has amounted to 315 euros because the minimum pension limit has increased to 450 euros.
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