Published on the occasion of the International Day of Older Persons, observed on Tuesday, 1 October 2024

Pensioners who wait for months to receive their earned pensions have had their rights violated. Many of them, while waiting for their first pension, are forced to find ways to meet basic living needs—such as buying food or paying utility bills—and are thus denied a dignified life during that period.

Ombudswoman Tena Šimonović Einwalter has repeatedly raised this issue with the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute (HZMO) and has acted on complaints submitted by pensioners affected by this problem throughout the year. She first highlighted the issue in her 2023 Annual Report, where she recommended that the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute make additional efforts to reduce processing delays.

Despite this recommendation and the established violation of rights, the problem persists. In addition to the cases recently reported by the media, this is also evidenced by complaints from older individuals addressed to the Ombudswoman:

“I worked for 44 years, and it is a disgrace that I have to fight for my legal right in this way!”

“To this day—nearly seven months later—and despite numerous follow-ups, there is still no pension decision. This is my right, not someone’s charity, and these delays are causing me direct financial harm. We’ll leave aside the humiliation and emotional distress, although they are not negligible. The worst part is the sense of helplessness.”

“More than seven months have passed since I submitted my application, during which I have been forced to live on the edge of existence on a pension advance of 310 EUR. This has placed me in a degrading position and, as an older person who clearly meets the conditions for an old-age pension, my dignity has been undermined by the bureaucratic, inefficient, and overly formalistic conduct of the HZMO, which, as an administrative body, should serve and assist citizens in exercising their fundamental rights.”

Everyone has the right to a dignified life, and that is not possible with prolonged pension delays or by living on an insufficient interim amount. Older persons are among the most socially vulnerable in Croatia, with 34.8% living at risk of poverty, and as many as 59.9% of older persons living alone.

For this reason, the Ombudswoman once again stresses that the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia defines the country as a social state in which social justice, equality, and respect for human rights are among the fundamental constitutional values. She once again urges the HZMO to implement the recommendation to make additional efforts to reduce the length of proceedings.

The legal deadline for processing pension claims is up to 60 days, and it is unacceptable for pensioners to wait longer than this, even when an advance is paid to some (but not all) during the interim. The amount of the advance is significantly lower than the pension they are entitled to and far below the cost of basic living expenses. In doing so, the state protects itself from “overpayment,” while leaving new pensioners to make up the shortfall during this period on their own.

Furthermore, citizens waiting for their pension are unable to use discounts offered to pensioners in stores, and a particular problem is that they cannot access health insurance as pensioners, but only as unemployed persons.

This means they are required to report in person to their nearest Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO) office every three months, which can also represent an additional cost. It is worth noting that, due to the introduction of this mandatory in-person reporting requirement, the Ombudswoman submitted a request to the Constitutional Court last year, which has announced it will make a decision in the autumn.