If the Parliament does not pass the amendments to the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance (PIO), nearly four thousand proportional pensioners will not receive the minimum pension of 450 euros in February. This was confirmed for “Dan” by the Minister of Social Welfare, Family Care, and Demography, Damir Gutić.
“The government has adopted the Law on Amendments to the PIO Law, but it has not been passed in Parliament. For the minimum pensions to be paid to proportional pensioners, the law must be passed in Parliament. The budget is also a limiting factor, but funds for payments could be found if the PIO Law were passed, despite temporary financing,” explained Gutić.
A parliamentary session is scheduled for Tuesday, January 21, during which one of the agenda items is the proposal for amendments to the PIO Law. Given the developments in December and the opposition’s unchanged stance on blocking the parliament’s work, it is uncertain whether the ruling party will succeed in passing both the Budget Law and the PIO Law, which are prerequisites for paying the minimum pension of 450 euros to nearly 4,000 pensioners.
“The good thing is that the payment of January pensions will begin around February 20. There is still time for the amendments to the PIO Law to be passed by then,” said Gutić.
Asked about the final deadline for passing the law in Parliament to ensure the payment of minimum pensions to proportional pensioners, Gutić stated that it must be passed by February 10, as the PIO Fund needs about ten days to calculate the pensions.
“If the amendments to the PIO Law are passed by February 10, proportional pensioners who receive a pension lower than the minimum will be paid 450 euros. If the law is not passed by then, they will receive the 450 euros starting the following month. Only one minimum pension will be missed, no more, and as soon as the law is passed, it will be implemented,” emphasized Gutić.
