Pensioners demand courts the return of CAS

Pensioners who want to recover some of the tax of 5.5 percent for health insurance address to courthouses across the country.

At Pitesti pensioners pushed with gendarmes and forced the entry into court, pulling out a door from the hinge.

A pensioner was sick and she was taken to an ambulance.

Over 400 pensioners are at this time at queue in front of the Argeş court, Radio Romania Actualitati correspondent, Constantin Paşol broadcasted.

Pensioners want to press charges against National Pensions House to recover amounts as a percentage of 5.5 of pension withheld as contribution for health .

Until Thursday, the number of complaints filed at the registry institution, exceeds 10, 000.

Representatives of the Court have announced on Friday they intend to extend the programme of public relations.

In Bucharest, more than 1,000 pensioners came in the first hour on the Court, however, only half of them have succeeded in registering their complaints.

Only they had the complete files.

The Bucharest Court took action to face the litigations wave.

The spokesman’s institution, Laura Andrei, said for Radio Romania Actualitati the courts activity will be greatly hampered.

Ministry of labour tries to approximate the laws

Over 100 thousand pensioners have filed complaints in the courts so far to recover the money they have paid for health insurance, after Constitutional Court ruled only for the part of the pension which exceeds 740 lei it can withhold the contribution of 5.5 percent.

Lawyers specialized in employment say the law was misinterpreted and the pensioners who complained to recover their money have big chances to win in court, but the National Pensions House claims that it did not make errors.

Minister of Labour, Claudia Boghicevici, said that a group of experts from the Ministry is in charge of harmonizing of the current legislation with the decision of Constitutional Court.

"There is no need to risk their health queuing, over their powers, so as to reach the Court, today or tomorrow, or over a week, it does not mean that they no longer have the same rights if they have submitted before yesterday this request."

"As regards the applications for the refund of amounts collected so far from the health contribution, I can say one thing: Constitutional Court has stated very clearly that such rights are calculated and paid from now on. At the moment, there is no legal basis for a refund of amounts collected so far", said the Labour Minister , Claudia Boghicevici.

Pensioners will also receive in May, pensions calculated according to the current Tax Code.

The share of 5.5 per cent for health will be retained from now on from all pension and not just from the pension income exceeding 740 lei, said today the Minister of Labour, Claudia Boghicevici.

She noted that to those with pensions of less than 740 lei will not be retained the share for health, this is provided from the State budget.

General Secretary of PSD, Liviu Dragnea, called on Friday, Prime Minister Ungureanu, that, between two actions of image to find time to adopt of an administrative act by which the pensioners receive back their money from State.

Liviu Dragnea said, drawing a parallel with the characters in the ballad Mioriţa, that "the Magyar shepherd" wants to sell the power stations and electrical and gas infrastructures built by pensioners to cover the thefts made during these years.

"When this Government was appointed, it still comes to mind the Mioriţa ballad, that's a sad ballad and marks a curse on the destiny of this country, in which, the Magyar shepherd, at sunset, wants to kill the Moldavian shepherd, and so on.

"We see today that Magyar shepherd wants to sell the power stations built by you, wants to sell electrical infrastructure built by you, wants to sell gas infrastructure built by you", said the PSD general Secretary , Liviu Dragnea.

Constitutional Court has decided that it will contribute to the health fund only the elderly with pensions more than 740 lei and only the amount that exceeds this threshold.

But the decision does not have retroactive effects.

The pension system strongly affected in the future

Romania's population aged over 65 years will increase almost twice and the number of persons aged 20-55 years halved over the next 50 years, which will negatively affect the labour market and diminish substantially, even faster, the public pension system resources.

Romanian negative demographic prospects are set out in the new convergence programme approved on Wednesday by the Government and to be submitted to the European Commission.

In a document obtained by Mediafax it is shown that the demographic forecast for Romania carried out recently by Eurostat maintains the previous evaluation in 2008, to speed up the process of ageing population during the period 2010-2061, as a result of low fertility rates.

"Population over 65 years old will increase by about 1.9 times, and the population between 20-55 years old will almost halve in this time frame. Speed process of aging will adversely affect the labour market.

"The ratio of persons aged over 65 years and the aged employment (20-65 years old) increases significantly, which means that also in anticipation of the next 10-20 years the public pension system will have much reduced resources in relation to expenditure", shown in the document.

In addition, the evolution in the number of pensioners on age structure indicates a relatively high proportion of relatively young pensioners (between 45-55 years old), especially among the disability pensions.

The Government hopes that the measures recently adopted on tightening the access to invalidity pensions, in conjunction with increasing the retirement age for women, to have an important contribution to reducing the number of retirees in the coming years, especially in the years 2025-2030 it forecasts an accelerated increase of the number of people aged over 65 years.


Translated by Anamaria Petrache
MTTLC, Bucharest University