Express pension payments on retirement

Employees retiring will no longer have to wait almost half a year before they receive their first pension from state coffers, declared the Labour Ministry on Tuesday.

The ministry announced that the first statutory pension payment would take place within one month of the retirement date after introducing technology that reduces red tape.

As of the end of September, all employees retiring at 65 will receive their first pension within a month. An estimated 30% of pensioners retire at 65.

The same arrangement will apply for employees opting for early retirement, at 63 (70% of pensioners) at the end of the year.

In its announcement, the Labour Ministry said speeding up the process of paying pensions will benefit some 10,000 new pensioners retiring every year.

Applications submitted for the payment of a statutory pension in 2021 were 10,257; in 2022, it was 11,425, and in 2023, 7,861 applications have been submitted to date.

According to the ministry, in 2022, the average examination time varied between 5 and 6 months.

The Labour Ministry said the development was made possible thanks to the tech upgrade of the Social Insurance system, enabling pensions to be paid out faster.

“Government strategy for the timely payment of all the benefits by the Social Insurance Services continues, is in full swing, accelerating the examination procedures of the requests submitted by citizens,” said the ministry.

It added that with the upgrade: “The utilisation of human resources is optimised, processes are simplified, technology and innovations are introduced”.

A study is underway into how civil servants from other state agencies could help the Social Insurance Service during non-working hours, putting in overtime.