New changes to the Pension Insurance Law
Professional soldiers will gain the right to retire under the same conditions as officers and non-commissioned officers, pensioners will have the opportunity to increase their pensions through additional years of service, and new rights will be introduced for farmers.
Professional soldiers serving under contract could soon become entitled to an old-age pension under the same conditions as non-commissioned officers and officers up to the rank of lieutenant colonel, according to amendments to the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance prepared by the Government of Serbia.
Under the proposed changes, professional contract soldiers will be entitled to an old-age pension after completing 40 years of pensionable service and reaching at least 53 years of age, thereby bringing their status into line with that of other members of the professional armed forces.
Attendance allowance and care assistance
In addition, the draft law introduces a number of other changes for insured persons and pensioners. One of the more significant amendments concerns the right to attendance allowance and care assistance, which is being explicitly included among the insured risks covered by the pension and disability insurance system for the first time.
Pensioners who continue working
An important change is also envisaged for pensioners who continue working after retirement. Recipients of old-age and early retirement pensions who accumulate at least one additional year of pensionable service after retiring will be able to apply for a recalculation of their pension.
In such cases, the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund (PIO Fund) will calculate a new, more favourable pension amount based on the additional period of service completed.
Farmers
The amendments also affect farmers. Mandatory insurance coverage will in the future apply to holders of family agricultural holdings who pay income tax on self-employed activities or value-added tax (VAT).
At the same time, the law introduces the possibility of suspending insured status in cases of natural disasters, illness or maternity leave.
Employees of foreign employers
The draft law also provides for new categories of insured persons, including employees working for foreign employers that do not have a registered representative office in Serbia, provided that Serbian regulations apply to them in accordance with the rules governing the coordination of social security systems.
The proposed amendments further clarify that entitlement to old-age and early retirement pensions is acquired only after insurance coverage has ceased, with certain exceptions for specific categories of insured persons and individuals whose most recent insurance coverage was in countries with which Serbia has concluded social security agreements.
Reimbursement of funeral expenses
Among the changes is also an amendment to the rules governing reimbursement of funeral expenses. The proposal provides that persons who bear the costs of burying beneficiaries of certain disability-related benefits and residual work-capacity benefits will also be entitled to this reimbursement, thereby resolving a long-standing issue that has arisen in practice.
Most provisions of the law are expected to enter into force on the eighth day following publication in the Republic of Serbia’s Official Gazette. However, provisions relating to harmonisation with European Union rules will only begin to apply once Serbia joins the EU.
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