The Janez Janša government has done so much for the pensioners in just ten months – more than the previous governments managed to do in a whole decade!

Solidarity allowances for pensioners with the lowest pensions in three anti-corona legislative packages, regular and extraordinary adjustment of pensions, increase of assessment percentages for men, planned annual benefits for 600 thousand pensioners in 2021, an established demography office, more than 200 million euros of additional funds for pensions compared to the previous government, 10 million euros more for the long-term care compared to the previous government, an additional 1,100 beds in nursing homes – all of these are just some of the more visible results of the current government’s work in improving the social situation for the retirees, which they have done in less than a year.

After a decade of unsuccessful left-wing governments and the collapse of the government of Marjan Šarec, which was unable to perform its basic functions due to the games that the parties of the coalition were playing, the SDS, SMC, NSi and DeSUS coalition led by the Prime Minister Janez Janša, took over the responsibility for the country’s basic challenges. The coalition is ideologically mixed, so they put the realization of the coalition programme at the forefront. One of the key issues of the programme is also the social position of the pensioners.

Since March, when the government was sworn, in until today, in just ten months, a good number of measures adopted to help the pensioners has accumulated, and the government still has some ambitious plans for the year 2021. The success of the government in the field of pension policy was also welcomed by the president of the Slovenian Federation of Pensioners’ Association Janez Sušnik, who has said, as early as August, that the interests of the pensioners were more important than the internal divisions within the parties. All DeSUS MPs have also confirmed that the programme is being successfully implemented, in accordance with the commitments from the coalition agreement. However, their president, Karl Erjavec, still wants to destroy the possibility of a better future for the Slovenian pensioners, due to his own ambitions and the partial interests of the deep state.

Here are the intervention measures that have been adopted as part of the anti-corona legislative packages:

The first anti-corona legislative package:

• Pensioners with low pensions received a one-time solidarity allowance, which came in three different amounts (300, 230 and 130 euros), depending on the amount of the pension.

The second anti-corona legislative package:

• Recipients of disability insurance benefits who are unemployed, work part-time, have been temporarily laid-off, or are absent from work due to force majeure and the recipients of occupational pensions which do not exceed the amount of 700 euros, were also entitled to a one-off solidarity allowance in the amount between 130 and 300 euros.
• A one-time solidarity allowance in the amount of 150 euros was paid to the farmers over the age of 65 who do not receive pensions.

The seventh anti-corona legislative package:

• Payment of a one-time solidarity allowance in three different amounts (130, 230 and 330 euros), which will depend on the amount of the recipients’ pension is planned.

Pension adjustments:

• Extraordinary adjustment of pensions and other benefits, except for the annual allowance and the allowance for assistance and care in December 2020, in the amount of 2 percent (it was planned in the nominal amount, the proposal was accepted in percentages).
• Regular adjustment of pensions and other benefits, except for the annual allowance and the allowance for assistance and care is planned for January 2021, in the amount of 2.5 percent.

Changes in the calculations of pensions in 2021:

• Four thousand pensioners with a purchased period, reached by the 31^st of December 2012, which will be considered under the Pension and Disability Insurance Act 2 (Zakon o pokojninskem in invalidskem zavarovanju 2 – ZPIZ2) as a pension without a purchased period, and under the Pension and Disability Insurance Act 1 (ZPIZ1) additional purchase of studies and military service as a period of employment, which means that ZPIZ will assess the old-age pension anew, instead of an early retirement pension.
• Assessment percentages for men are increasing, namely:
  • For an insurance period of 15 years to 27,5 (this year the number is 27) and for each subsequent year 1.28 (this year the number is 58.5).
  • For 40 years of pensionable service to 59.5 (this year the number is 58.5).

The annual benefit for the year 2021 (for 600 thousand pensioners):

Increase of the amount of the annual benefit (in the amount of 5 euros compared to the amount of the paid annual benefit for the year 2020):

• 445 euros up to a pension of 525 euros (paid to the beneficiaries in full and not in a proportional share – effect in the form of additional 10 million euros for approximately 37,000 recipients of proportional pensions),
• 305 euros up to a pension of 630 euros,
• 245 euros up to a pension of 745 euros,
• 195 euros up to a pension of 900 euros,
• 135 euros if the pension is higher than 900 euros.

A demographic office has been established. A proposal for the National Demographic Fund Act is currently in the process of being adopted by the National Assembly, which will provide additional funding for the pension fund from state property.

The amount of state budget funds allocated for the purpose of paying pensions:
The 13^th government of the Republic of Slovenia allocated 940,258,933 euros from the state budget for the payment of pensions, and with the supplementary budget for 2020, the 14^th government allocated 1,155,667,728 euros for the payment of pensions. In the 2021 budget, 1.337.236.866 euros have been allocated for the payment of pensions, and in the 2022 budget, that number is 1,291,932,122 euros. In the years 2021 and 2022, Kapitalska družba pokojninskega in invalidskega zavarovanja, d.d., or its legal successor, is obliged to transfer 50 million euros to the Pension and Disability Insurance Institute every year.

The amount of funds allocated for long-term care:
For the purpose of long-term care, the 13^th government allocated 12,251,859 euros in the 2020 budget, while the 14^th government allocated 22,824,665 euros for the purpose of solving the problem of long-term care in the year 2021, and 21,852,200 euros for the year 2022, in accordance with the agreed-upon commitments from the coalition agreement. Due to the increased need for care for the elderly, the Ministry has accelerated activities to provide additional capacities in nursing homes. The latter will be ensured both by the award of concessions and by the intensive drawing of European funds. On the 19^th of June 2020, the Ministry has already published a public tender for concessions for approximately 1,100 beds.

Other – promoting the social integration of pensioners:
A public tender has been carried out, for the co-financing of projects of recreational, sports and cultural activities for the organizations of pensioners and disabled workers in 2020, in the amount of 115,000 euros, for their social integration. This will continue in the coming years, to a greater extent, which has not been possible this year, due to the pandemic.

Sara Kovač