Only Military Pensions Exceeding RON3,000 To Decrease Following Recalculation – Labor Min

Seitan said information saying pensions of military staff might be reduced by up to 69% is „groundless”.

Moreover, the minister said that calculations made by the Labor Ministry and the Pension and Social Security House show some military staff pensions might even increase, highlighting these results are only a scenario, as no complete data and documents were available.

Seitan said he cannot provide a clear percentage to show how much military staff pensions will decrease, adding calculations will be made separately, for each individual.

Romania’s Defense Minister Gabriel Oprea said a recent calculation scenario, at the suggestion of the Labor Ministry, indicated that military staff pensions are to be reduced by 19% up to 69% upon the enforcement of the country’s new unitary pension law.

Oprea stressed all current and future pensions will be affected, adding, however, that it hasn’t yet been established how much money it will be saved to the state budget.

Mid-March, sources close to the matter said the representatives of the Ministries of Defense and Interior, the Romanian Intelligence Service SRI, the Romanian Guard and Protection Service SPP, the Special Telecommunications Service STS and the Foreign Intelligence Service SIE plan to propose a series of amendments to the country’s new unitary pension law if it leaves out the current pension regulations for these categories, included in laws 164/2001 and 179/2004.

Mid-February, the Defense Ministry said nearly 9% of military pensions, namely 7,265 out of 81,183 military pensions, top 3,001 lei (EUR1=RON4.0908), and 209 of them exceed RON5,000.

The ministry also said the average military pension amounts to nearly RON1,700 and in February, a total 81,183 military pensions were paid on a monthly basis. The minimum pension amounts to RON39 and in February, a total 12,942 retirees were paid pensions ranging from RON39 to RON1,000.

Currently, 72% of military pensions are below the RON2,000 threshold and 90.2 % are below RON3,000.

Military pensions are currently calculated based on the monthly military pay which does not include the bonuses and indemnities granted in accordance with salary laws, unlike the public sector laws which consider these salary rights.

The Romanian Government approved mid-February a draft law reforming the country’s public pension system.

Under the new pension law, special pensions, such as those of lawmakers military, law enforcement and intelligence services staff, will be recalculated and therefore reduced. Prime Minister Emil Boc said the recalculation of special pensions would generate savings of EUR500 million to EUR800 million.

The International Monetary Fund, which is lending Romania EUR13 million under a two-year stand-by agreement, has requested the pension law be adopted in June this year at the latest.