The average pension in 2006 was 142 euros, and at the end of 2020 it was 290 euros. This is an increase of 104%, but it did not happen because of the concern of the authorities at the time about pensioners, but because of the filed lawsuit, expert findings and out-of-court settlement. In 2008, court experts determined that, due to previous erroneous adjustments and decisions of government bodies, pensioners were deprived of the total value of eight pensions each.
The group of pensioners, which was represented in public at the time by the then official of the SNP and now Democrat Neven Gošović, claimed that the damage suffered by the pensioners due to the decisions of the authorities was much greater and announced new lawsuits. However, the Government then signs an out-of-court settlement with the Association of Pensioners, according to which pensions are extraordinarily adjusted by 29.9% in several half-yearly installments.
From the end of 2020 until March of this year, the average pension was increased from 290 to 374 euros, or by 29%, and since the overall inflation was 23%, the real increase in the value of the pension was only six percent. However, since this population spends most of its income on food, the prices of which have risen by 35 percent for this period, it can be said that for part of the pensioners there has also been a drop in standards.
The regular adjustment of pensions for May this year should be calculated and paid by June 20, based on the growth of net earnings and inflation in the period January-April this year compared to the last four months of the previous year. In the last two months, deflation was recorded, so that the impact of inflation in the pension adjustment formula will most likely be neutral for the entire period. According to the current data, net wages have increased by about 8.5%, which would affect the growth of pensions by about 6.3% (0.75% of the increase in net wages).
The decline in the value of pensions in relation to net earnings
The law on pension and disability insurance states that the pension is aligned with the growth of wages, but for decades it has been aligned with the growth of average gross wages, while net wages grew faster.
Only in the past two years, if pensions had been adjusted to the growth of net earnings, it would have been about 15% higher than it was.
The association of pensioners “For a dignified life of a man” requested that pensions be adjusted to the growth of net earnings and that they be extraordinarily increased, in order to be adjusted to the increase in the cost of living in the past two years.
This is also confirmed by data on the ratio of average pension and net earnings. The average pension at the end of 2020 amounted to EUR 290 and had a value of 55% of the then average net salary. Now the average pension of EUR 374 is worth 47% of the average net salary. That difference will be partially mitigated with the May adjustment.
