The retirement age will rise to 63 for men until January 1, 2019, while for women until 2028. The insurance period or length of service required before retiring will be equalized to 34. For men, the new insurance period will be introduced on July 1, 2018, while for women on July 1, 2024. Minister of Labor, Social Protection and Family Stela Grigoras told a news conference that the pension system reform is designed to improve everyone’s life and to ensure decent living conditions for pensioners.

The minister explained that the bill includes innovative provisions such as those concerning the reexamination of pensions. The pensioners who work or worked after retiring and get and old-age pensions will be able to ask for the reexamination of the pension once in two years, on condition that the calculated pension is larger than the paid pension.

“This reform of the pension system is in the common interest of all the people. This reform is the lifebuoy of a system that is close to collapse. If we do not do this reform today, it can be too late tomorrow as in two-three years the system will fall and the effects could be dramatic and unpredictable for the whole society. We cannot admit that 83% of the pensioners get a pension lower than the subsistence level,” stated Stela Grigoras.

She added that the pension system reform will make equal all the categories of working people and there will be no privileged pensions. However, the public functionaries who would have worked for 33 years in the case of men and for 30 years in the case of women and for at least 15 years in the public service by January 1, 2017 will receive pensions in accordance with the old conditions.