Pensions bill must be ready by Monday night

Creditors are demanding that the government carry out immediate reforms to halt early retirements, increase social security contributions and merge pension funds, as well as to plan further measures in the areas of social security and labor for the second wave of reforms in October.

By Wednesday at the latest, Parliament will have to approve a bill to stop people from retiring before the 62nd year of age. This will be a part of the first wave of social security interventions that Labor Ministry officials say should be ready by the end of Monday.

In the transitional period up to 2022, starting immediately, besides an increase in the penalty to minus 16 percent for every year before the completion of the 62nd year, a clause will be introduced saying that anyone retiring before the age of 67 will collect only the amount that is proportionate to their contributions, and, upon completing their 67th year, collect the minimum guaranteed pension.

The package of measures will also include an increase in social security contributions in favor of the healthcare system by two percentage points (from 4 to 6 percent) for main pensions and six percentage points for auxiliary pensions. State financing of pension funds will be curtailed considerably.