Length of service of 35 years required before retirement for women runs counter to Constitution

The Constitutional Court Tuesday ruled that the length of service of 35 years required before the women can retire runs counter to the Constitution. It also declared as unconstitutional the amendments concerning social guarantees for judges, Info-Prim Neo reports. The decision was passed following an application filed by ombudsman Tudor Lazar, MP of the 18th legislature Vasile Balan and current lawmaker Sergiu Sirbu. The Constitutional Court said the women who start work after the age of 22 will be unable to obtain a length of service of 35 years until the retirement age of 57. The court referred especially to the women who study at universities. The Court decided that the modification of the retirement norms and of the procedure for granting social guarantees to judges is also unconstitutional. These amendments provide for increasing the retirement age for judges to 62 years for men and to 57 years for women. The Constitutional Court also ruled that the provisions allowing increasing the required length of service before retirement for judges from 20 to 35 years and reducing the pension from 80% of the average salary to 75% of all the guaranteed payments. The Court’s decision is definite and will come into force after it is published in the Official Gazette of Moldova.