Croatia to reform veteran pensions, boosting benefits for combat sector service

Croatia's government is set to implement a significant reform of veteran pensions, aiming to increase benefits for more than 200,000 veterans starting January 1, 2027. The proposed changes, presented by the Ministry of Croatian Veterans, will introduce a new system that specifically values time spent in the combat sector when calculating pension amounts. This move is part of a broader effort to abolish a third pension reduction, which was introduced in 2002. Ministers Tomo Medved and Alen Ružić unveiled the draft amendments to the Law on Croatian Veterans of the Homeland War and Their Families and the Law on Pension Insurance Rights for Active Military Personnel, Police Officers, and Authorized Officials. Medved highlighted that the government has already eliminated two previous pension reductions since 2016 and is now targeting the third. The reform will affect approximately 201,304 beneficiaries, representing over 70% of all veterans and their family members receiving pension rights. The state has allocated 88.5 million euros for the implementation of these measures, with no immediate need for changes to the state budget. State Secretary Darko Nekić explained that 104,560 veterans will be eligible for a supplement of three euros for each month served in the combat sector, while those in non-combat roles will receive 0.5 euros per month. The reform will not include recipients of disability and survivor pensions, totaling 51,192 and 15,633 beneficiaries respectively. The Ministry of Croatian Veterans indicated that the final pension amounts could be adjusted further following a public consultation period.

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Ostaje nam ukinuti treće umanjenje, ono iz 2002. godine, i zato ćemo kroz izmjene Zakona o djelatnim vojnim osobama ukinuti umanjenje od osam do 20 posto onim hrvatskim braniteljima, vojnicima i policajcima koji su umirovljeni po toj osnovi.