Croatia is dying?! Every third resident retired till the end of 2017

Croatia will have almost 1.24 million pensioners by the end of 2017, or 28.7 percent of population, if the projections of Zagreb government, made for the purpose of this year's budget, come true.

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Under the title "Croatia is dying: Every third resident retired till the end of 2017", newspapers "Glas Slavonije" claims that there are 1.440.188 retired people (workers), according to the Croatian Institute for Pension Insurance, and there are 1,233.375 pension beneficiaries so the ratio of employees and retirees (1: 1.17). 

Such ratio, as marked, causes unease when looking into the future of Croatian pension system and the country itself, because the ratio should be 1:2 minimum, that one worker earns for himself and one retired person, reports the portal Seebiz.

In some counties, such is (part of) Slavonia, the ratio already tilted into wrong direction and it is 1:96.

According to the Croatian Institute for Pension Insurance,  6.500 new users of Pension Insurance are expected in 2017 because it is expected for 50.000 new retired people, but there is also expectation that there will be 43.500 dead users, which gives the increase of 6.500 pensioners, writes the "Glas Slavonije".

That number will be, as it is predicted, reduced to 1.500 according to the latest regulations, so the final increase in pensioners in 2017 will be 5.000. According to that records, it is expected that the number of insured will be increased, so the ratio of users and insured will go in positive way.

Foto-ilustracija: Profimedia/F1 Online

The state expects to raise 22.57 billion Kuna from pensions taxes in 2017 (little over three billion euros), which means that they will have to ensure additional 17 billion Kuna (2.28 billion euros) to cover the costs of pensions.  

Demographer from the institute "Ivo Pilar" in Vukovar, Drazen Zivic, said that the demographic reason is the most important for the growth of Croatian pensioners, because the nation is growing older.

- Sudden increase (in number of pensioners) started at the beginning of nineties, when people started buying years of service to solve the problems of dysfunctional companies, their bankruptcy, so the problem with workers was solved with buying years, which caused significant increase in number of retired people.

He adds that after war period, also, "dragged many military retirements before the required years for regular retirement, which means not paying to pension funds".  

(Telegraf.co.uk / Tanjug)