By: Moja Dolenjska
At Thursday’s session, the government rejected the proposal of the parliamentary group led by Jelka Godec (Slovenian Democratic Party – Slovenska demokratska stranka: SDS) to re-introduce the state pension. They also rejected the proposal to increase the amount of the guaranteed old-age pension for 40 years of the pension period to the amount of 771 euros, which is the threshold of the risk of poverty. They also opposed the increase of the pension base to 78 percent of the average monthly salary (from the current 76.5 percent).
The Slovenian Democratic Party Parliamentary Group proposed the reintroduction of the institution of a state pension, which would be granted to citizens who are not entitled to any other pension and who have reached the age of 65 and have had a registered permanent residence in the Republic of Slovenia for at least 30 years between the ages of 15 and 65. The state pension would thus be 33 percent of the minimum pension base. They also proposed that the minimum and maximum pension base be raised from 76.5 to 78 per cent of the average monthly salary.
State pensions were taken away from more than 15,000 beneficiaries when the Social Democrats party (Socialni Demokrati – SD) led the government and Anja Kopač Mrak, also from the SD party quota, was Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. Changes to the law then entered into force on the 1st of January 2012. Since then, the SDS party and the Slovenian People’s Party (Slovenska ljudska stranka – SLS) have made repeated efforts to have the state correct the injustice. However, this has always been rejected by the parties of the transitional left. And this is also the case now.
The majority of the people living on the poverty line are pensioners
According to official data from the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, there are currently about 243,000 people living in the country with incomes below the poverty line. The largest share of these people, one third, are pensioners, who are no longer able to improve their financial status through work and are therefore particularly vulnerable in these times of hardship and dependent on intergenerational solidarity. We are witnessing a 19 percent rise in food and non-alcoholic beverage prices, and inflation is around 10 percent.
The SDS party submitted a proposal to the government on the 31st of August last year, but the government has only now actually discussed it – and rejected the proposal and has so far done nothing to rectify the problem of pensions by itself.
The proposal was presented by MP Karmen Furman, MSc, at a press conference on the 31st of August 2022
On the 31st of August 2022, at a press conference, MP Karmen Furman, MSc, said the following: “In the SDS party’s parliamentary group, we believe that pensioners should not be left alone in distress during these difficult times. After years of hard work and paying all of the contributions, our pensioners deserve not just a one-time energy allowance, but – first and foremost – decent pensions.”