Radio România Internațional

Tag: retirement

  • The Week in Review (03-07.02.2025)

    The Week in Review (03-07.02.2025)

    The 2025 budget, adopted

    Romania’s state and social security budgets were adopted on February 6 by the Bucharest Parliament, shortly after being greenlit by the expert committees. The budget is built on an economic growth rate of 2.5% and a deficit of 7% of GDP. Last year, the deficit was close to 9%, prompting the new PSD – PNL – UDMR ruling coalition to make efforts for its gradual reduction. The government has promised that investments will not be affected by the budget rebalancing. According to the finance minister, Tánczos Barna, conditions are met to support the country’s development through record investments and to ensure the financial resources for the payment of salaries and pensions and the protection of the vulnerable categories. The opposition USR criticized the new budget provisions, for what they see as overestimation of income, indebtedness of Romanians through the measures adopted and the elimination of some tax facilities.

     

     

    Huge real estate scam with political overtones

    The vote on the state budget was not the only important event that took place on Wednesday, in Parliament. Representatives of both opposition groups in Parliament, the pro-Europeans and the sovereigntists, loudly demanded the resignation of the Social-Democratic prime minister Marcel Ciolacu. The reason is the insufficiently clarified connections which he allegedly has with the former Social Democratic MP Laura Vicol, who headed the Chamber of Deputies’ legal committee for four years, and with her husband, Vladimir Ciorbă. The Prosecutor’s Office accuses the two of having developed a financial scam through which they collected from clients, individuals and legal entities, over 195 million euros, without delivering the apartments and parking lots which their clients had paid for. The Vicol-Ciorbă couple and three other people with positions within the Nordis group of companies have been arrested this week after extensive searches carried out in Romania and abroad. The investigation targets 40 individuals and 32 companies. According to investigators, there were also cases of the same apartment being sold to different clients. The prosecutor’s office seized hundreds of apartments and houses, commercial spaces, land, cars and shares and blocked dozens of bank accounts of the individuals and companies involved. The tax office announced an internal control, after prosecutors claimed that four of its inspectors could be charged with favoring the criminal. The latter allegedly took no measures against the Nordis group, although they had already discovered irregularities three years ago. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who traveled on planes rented by Nordis, claims that he paid for his flights himself. He is not being accused of any crime, but his image is tainted by his presence, alongside other PSD leaders, in the company of such people.

     

    A new attempt to suspend the president

    Prime Minister Ciolacu is not the only one whose resignation is being requested. One of the three sovereigntist parties in the Romanian Parliament on Wednesday submitted a new request, the third, for the suspension of President Klaus Iohannis. The previous request had been rejected by the Permanent Bureaus. The new request is also signed by the Save Romanian Union (USR) whose members said they would vote for it if it reached the plenary session. The opposition claims that the presence of Iohannis at the helm of the state is illegitimate. However, Iohannis repeatedly ruled out the option of his resignation, arguing that the Constitution requires him to remain in office until the future president is sworn in. Iohannis remained in office although his second and last term expired on December 21, after the Constitutional Court annulled last year’s presidential election. A new vote will take place on May 4 and 18. The former liberal leader Crin Antonescu will also enter the race for the supreme office. Last Sunday he received the validation as a joint candidate of the coalition government (PSD-PNL-UDMR) also from the social democrats, after he had previously been confirmed by the liberals and ethnic Hungarians.

     

    Again, about the theft of the Dacian treasure pieces

    The prime minister’s control body has found deficiencies or legislative gaps in terms of protecting the cultural heritage, and failures of compliance with the legal framework that regulates the temporary export of classified movable cultural assets. This is the result of checks undertaken in relation to the conditions in which some of the artefacts from the Dacian treasure were exhibited in the Dutch Drents Museum in Assen. The control body also found that the security and anti-burglary security measures and conditions proposed by the foreign entities to which the assets were lent were not analyzed by specialists. Four of the most important artefacts from Romania’s national heritage have been recently stolen from the Drents Museum in the Dutch city of Assen, namely the gold helmet from Coţofeneşti, dating from the period between the 5th and 4th centuries before Christ, as well as three Dacian gold bracelets from Sarmizegetusa Regia, from the second half of the first century before Christ. The pieces, of inestimable historical value, were part of the Exhibition “Dacia – The Kingdom of Gold and Silver” which opened on July 7, 2024 and was to be closed on January 25.

     

    Retirement of a great champion

    “My body can no longer sustain the effort it takes to get back to where I once was, and I know what that requires.” This is how Simona Halep, the most valuable tennis player in the history of Romania, with the most titles, explained her retirement. The announcement was made on Tuesday, almost a year after returning to professional competitions, which she had been banned from due to doping allegations. Simona Halep was in first place in the WTA ranking for 64 weeks. Her record includes two Grand Slam titles – Roland Garros and Wimbledon – as well as three other finals played, two at Roland Garros and one at the Australian Open. She has won 24 titles and won more than 40 million dollars from tennis, being third on the all-time list of WTA earners, behind Serena and Venus Williams. (EE, LS)

  • February 5, 2025

    February 5, 2025

    BUDGET – The state budget for 2025 is being debated in a joint plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, after it was approved, on February 1, by the ruling coalition government. The budget focuses on development, Finance Minister Tánczos Barna said, with record funds allotted to investments and with provisions for reducing public spending. The Romanian official gave details regarding the figures underlying this year’s budget: an economic growth rate of 2.5% and an average inflation rate of 4.4 percent. The main target of the government is to reduce the budget deficit to 7% of GDP, without taking into account, however, increases in taxes and duties.

     

    MEETING – The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, on Tuesday, met in Bucharest with the European Commission Vice-President, Romanian Roxana Mînzatu. The two discussed the role of education in combating disinformation and manipulation, as well as strengthening the democratic resilience of European societies. Commissioner Mînzatu, who takes charge of Social Rights and Employment, highlighted the need for investments in basic skills, technical and vocational education.

     

    AMBASSADORS – Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu is today meeting the ambassadors of the EU member states accredited in Bucharest. The meeting is hosted by the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU. Poland took over the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union from Hungary on January 1, 2025, for a period of six months, in a difficult geopolitical context, with European security, support for Ukraine and the consolidation of the economy as its top priorities.

     

    INVESTIGATION – The Bucharest Court of Appeal is today ruling on the proposals for the preemptive arrest of 11 people detained in the Nordis investigation. The list includes the former PSD head of the Chamber of Deputies’ Legal Committee, Laura Vicol, and her husband, Vladimir Ciorbă, the main shareholders of Nordis. According to prosecutors, the two allegedly spent huge amounts of money on goods and services exclusively for their personal benefit, after tricking clients into buying apartments in buildings that were no longer built. Ioana Băsescu, the eldest daughter of former president Traian Băsescu, and former PSD deputy Andreea Cosma, were also deposed in the investigation for their involvement in the Nordis affair as public notaries. The total amount embezzled reportedly exceeds 70 million EUR.

     

    PROPOSAL – Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have categorically dismissed the proposal of US President Donald Trump, made in a press conference at the White House alongside the Israeli Prime Minister, regarding the takeover of the Gaza Strip by the United States and the relocation of Palestinians to other areas in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia has stated that it will not establish relations with Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state. Also, the leadership of the Islamist group Hamas has said that the plan to relocate the population of Gaza would be a recipe for chaos and tensions in the region.

     

    HALEP – The tennis world has reacted following Romanian player Simona Halep’s announcement that she was retiring. Halep made the announcement on Tuesday evening in Cluj-Napoca (northwest), after losing in the first round of the Transylvania Open. The organizers of the Roland Garros Grand Slam tournament, which Halep won in 2018, conveyed a message on X: “Our 2018 champion, Simona Halep, has announced her retirement. We wish you all the best for the next chapter in your life, Simona”. The organizers of the Wimbledon tournament also commented on the Romanian’s announcement: “Our 2019 singles champion, @Simona_Halep, has ended her professional tennis career – we wish her all the best after her retirement”. (VP)

  • Simona Halep retires from tennis

    Simona Halep retires from tennis

    One of the greatest Romanian athletes, tennis player Simona Halep, announced her retirement at the age of 33.

     

     

    “It is tough to see such a great champion leave the sport”, the Americans from The Tennis Letter, a platform specializing in information on this sport, wrote after the Simona Halep’s announcement that she is retiring. The athlete from Constanţa (southeast) has inspired countless people along the way, The Tennis Letter also wrote.

     

    “I don’t know if it’s sadness or joy. It’s probably both. But I make this decision with an easy heart. I have always been realistic about myself. My body is not strong enough to take me to the level where I probably was. It’s very hard to get there and I know what it means to get there.” These are Simona’s words, said after losing the match to the Italian Lucia Bronzetti, on Tuesday, in Cluj-Napoca (northwest), in the first round of  Transylvania Open. Simona later said in a press conference: “I am at peace, I know that I did nothing wrong in tennis. All I want now is to get some rest. I am a professional tennis player who is exhausted from a professional viewpoint and I want to rest. I don’t want to make plans anymore so I will take things as they come and see what happens”.

     

    Simona Halep is, as the numbers show, the greatest tennis player in Romanian history. She was world number one for 64 weeks, between 2017 and 2019, the peak years of her career. She has two Grand Slam titles – the French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon in 2019 – as well as three other finals played in the most important tennis competitions: two at the French Open (2014, 2017) and one at the Australian Open (2018). She also finished runner-up at the 2014 WTA Finals.

     

    Starting from 2013, the year of her first performance in the big league, she has won 24 titles in total. She won over 40 million dollars from tennis, being in 3rd place all-time, after the Williams sisters. She defeated the younger one, Serena, in the Wimbledon final. The tennis history has also recorded memorable matches of Simona against athletes of the same caliber, such as Maria Sharapova, Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki.

     

    However, Halep’s most difficult and longest match ever was not played on clay, grass or hard, but in the famous court of arbitration in Lausanne, called to determine whether the Romanian had intentionally doped. In 2022, Halep had tested positive for a banned substance and subsequently suspended for four years. An eternity in tennis and many other sports, especially since, at that time, the Romanian had turned 31. In March last year, following the appeal filed by Halep at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the latter decided that Halep had not intentionally violated anti-doping rules, so the painful match for her own honor was won. She returned to competition, but not at the level she wanted, due to physical problems. The organizers of the French Open and Wimbledon immediately reacted to her the announcement that the Romanian was ending her professional career, evoking her performances and wishing her all the best in her new life, the one after tennis.

     

  • Work After Retirement in Europe and Romania

    Work After Retirement in Europe and Romania

    A recent study published by Eurostat showed that only 13% of European Union citizens continue to work after retirement. For 36% of them, the desire to remain productive and the fact that they enjoy what they do is the main motivation, while over 28% are driven by financial needs. Other reasons mentioned by the respondents to the study are the desire to remain socially integrated (11%) and the financial attractiveness of work (9%).

    The same study shows that the Baltic states have the highest proportions of seniors who continue to work after retirement: almost 55% (Estonia), 44% (Latvia) and almost 44% (Lithuania). At the opposite end are Greece and Spain (4.2% and 4.9% respectively), and in last place, with only 1.7% of retirees remaining active on the labor market, Romania.

    However, a survey conducted by BestJobs agency contradicts the statistics. In 2021, eight out of ten Romanian employees said they were considering working after retirement. To better understand the reality in Romania, we spoke to Sorina Faier, a human resources specialist with over 17 years of experience in the field.

    “I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. I don’t think Eurostat is completely right either, because it doesn’t have all the data and the other study only says that they intend to work, but not that they are working. Because, indeed, many retirees don’t have a high enough pensions by far — we all know how low pensions we have in Romania — and then they work. But many employers hire illegally, and it’s clear that they don’t appear on the payroll, and then Eurostat wouldn’t have any way of taking them into account.”

    When asked what are the reasons why Romanian retirees choose to stay in the workforce, Sorina Faier believes that financial needs prevail, but also that the desire not to isolate themselves is important.

    “Being sociable, still dynamic, physically and mentally healthy people, they really want to continue their activity in order to maintain this tonic state of being.”

    There are, however, significant differences between top and middle management employees and skilled and unskilled workers. In the case of the former, most want to stay in the same field. Because the mentality of employers has changed in the last ten years, says Sorina Faier, they are more open to retaining or hiring people past retirement age, aware of the benefits brought by the expertise of senior professionals in leadership positions.

    “I notice from all the interviews we have, and from all the meetings I have with top management, that they are much more open to hiring older people, the advantage being their seniority and the knowledge they can bring as a benefit. But if we talk about skilled and unskilled workers, most of them certainly go to other fields, and the main fields would be security services, because we see guards everywhere who are quite old and clearly retired. Usually, when they retire, exactly as I said, (they) go into services, possibly cleaning services, security services, maybe catering and taxi services.”

    There are also seniors who, after retirement, choose to take the path of entrepreneurship, most often in the field in which they have gained experience, with enough confidence that they can open a business from scratch.

    “Of course, most of them run a fairly small business, just enough to provide them with comfort and supplement their pension, and, yes, they focus on the fields they know, and the field in which they have formed a strong enough network to make that business successful.”

    Sorina Faier says that the mentality has changed compared to ten years ago, when people rarely considered working after retirement age. Today, Romanians understand that there are many benefits to staying active, both in terms of health and mental balance, but also from a financial perspective. Another option is freelancing in educational projects, in the field of translations, offering private lessons, or even in the IT field. The latter, although not occupying a very large percentage, tend to attract people who have constantly improved themselves and stayed up to date with the latest technologies.

    Data from the National Institute of Statistics showed that 4.9 million Romanians are retired, of which one million have not yet reached the standard retirement age. The age of first retiremeent in Romania is one of the lowest among EU member states: 59.5 years, with only Austria having an age as low as 59.6 years. On the other hand, Iceland, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden have the oldest age of first pension: between 64 and 66.2 years.

    Romanian experts believe that, being about an average, there are very large differences between those who retire early from the workforce and those who continue their activity until old age. Among the professions that offer early retirement in Romania are the police, gendarmerie, secret services, military service, the judiciary, and aviation.

  • Athlete of the week

    Athlete of the week

    The recently-held IHF World Women’s Championship brought the women’s international competition season to a standstill for about
    a month. The season has been resumed, with a new stage as part of the European
    Cups.


    Five Romanian teams have been proving their
    mettle in the Champions league and the EHF European League, respectively. They
    are CSM Bucharest, Rapid Bucharest, Dunarea Braila, Gloria Bistrita and CSM
    Targu Jiu.


    CSM Bucharest this past weekend had an
    excellent run, trouncing Montenegro’s Buducnost
    Podgorica, 44 to 26. CSM was lucky
    enough to have Cristina Neagu on the lineup, in top shape. At the recently-held World
    Championships, Cristina was part of the lineup but she played one single
    game, the fixture against Germany in the main group, having incompletely
    recovered from an injury. In this past Sunday’s game, Cristina Neagu was again
    her team’s top handballer, and the seven goals she scored mattered a lot in CSM’s
    confrontation against Buducnost.


    Reason enough for Radio Romania International
    to designate Cristina Neagu the Athlete of the week.


    Cristina Neagu was
    born in Bucharest, on August 26, 1988. She made her debut with the School
    Sports Club number 5. In 2006, Cristina Neagu turned pro, being signed up by
    Rulmentul from Brasov, then she had a stint with Oltchim Râmnicu Vâlcea. In
    2010, playing for Oltchim, Cristina Neagu reached as far as the Champions League
    final. When Oltchim was dismantled, Neagu was signed up by Buducnost Podgorica,
    winner of the Champions League in 2015. Since 2017, Cristina Neagu has been
    playing for CSM Bucharest. In 2010, 2015, 2016 și 2018, the IHF designated
    Cristina Neagu the world’s best handballer. Cristina thus became the first
    handballer in history who won the title four times. After the IHF Women’s World
    Championship in December, when the Romanian national team wasted the
    opportunity to qualify to the Olympic Games in Paris, Cristina Neagu announced her
    retirement from the national team.


    As a Romanian national
    team player, Cristina Neagu won two bronze medals, in 2010, at the European
    Championship, jointly hosted by Denmark and Norway, and at the World
    Championship in Denmark, in 2015.

  • The new pension law, under debate

    The new pension law, under debate

    Having the approval of the ruling coalition in Romania made up of the Social Democratic Party – PSD and the Liberal Party – PNL, the new pension draft law has been launched this week for public debate, and the government says it would like it to be adopted in an emergency procedure by November 20. The principles underlying the bill are contribution, stability in the labor field, equity and solidarity, the government representatives say, who pointed out that pensions will increase twice next year for most of the people who have ended their activity. Thus, from January 1, all pensions will be increased by 13.8%, according to the average annual inflation rate, with a second increase most likely to take place on September 1. Then, growth will be differentiated in order to eliminate inequities, the PM Marcel Ciolacu said.



    At the same time, in the next six months, all pensions will be recalculated according to a new formula based on the number of points achieved by each beneficiary, according to the contribution principle, a mechanism for indexing pensions that is clear and correlated with economic realities. Following the recalculation, a large part of pensioners will benefit from higher pensions and no pension will decrease, the government representatives have assured. All the projection is for the future, it is out of the question that anyone loses any money after the recalculation, says the prime minister.



    According to the new pension law, the minimum contribution period will be 15 years and the maximum period 35 years. Stability in work will be additionally rewarded, i.e. the contribution period achieved over 25 years will be adjusted with additional points for seniority, and the non-permanent contributory increments will be taken into consideration when calculating the pension. Also, women with several children will benefit from a reduction of the standard retirement age of three years and six months. As of 2035, the standard retirement age will be 65 for both men and women, and to achieve this measure, the standard retirement ages will be gradually increased.



    Early retirement can be requested at most 5 years before reaching the standard retirement age, by people who have completed the full contribution period. At the same time, the persons insured in the public pension system who meet the conditions for registration for retirement can opt for maintaining the job, annually, with the consent of the employer, until reaching the age of 70. As to pension expenses, the focus will be on maintaining them as a share in the total value of the GDP, the government says, so that the medium and long-term sustainability indicator should not indicate a high risk. The ruling coalition wants the new pension law to take effect on January 1, 2024, so the bill might be approved next week by the executive and then sent to parliament for debate and adoption. (LS)

  • No more special pensions for the Romanian MPs

    No more special pensions for the Romanian MPs


    This is the last week of the present session of the Legislature in Bucharest, which decided not to go on holiday before finalizing some of the most sensitive bills – that on the elimination of the MPs special pensions and the reform of the public service pensions. The elimination of the special pensions for the MPs was endorsed on Monday with a landslide majority in a joint sitting of the two chambers, a sitting marked by speeches abounding in quotations from classical literature, ironies, cries, booing and bell ringing sounds. The aforementioned voting has a special significance for the entire political class, says the Liberals president, Nicolae Ciuca, while the interim president of the Chamber of Deputies, the Social-Democrat Alfred Simonis has described it as a first step towards the reform of all special pensions, which is also an objective in the countrys National Plan of Recovery and Resilience (PNRR).


    Alfred Simonis: “We begin today with the first serious pension reform, the pensions of the MPs, which we dont tax, we dont cut, but we simply eliminate. We eliminate those, which are presently paid as well as those about to be paid in the absence of such a law. The special pensions, the accumulation of the pension and salary, unmet objectives in the National Plan of Recovery and Resilience, are priorities.”


    Although the oppositions backed the bill, there were voices who cautioned the document could be declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court; Parliament had endorsed the same law two years ago, but former MPs notified the Constitutional Court, which ruled it as unconstitutional. Furthermore, USR leader, Cătălin Drulă, has recalled that…


    Catalin Drula: “We are speaking about 700 beneficiaries of special pensions, the other 210 thousand special pensions remain untouched.”


    We recall that Romania has several occupational categories, whose pensions arent exclusively based on the contributions of these employees to the state social insurances before retirement, like the rest of the citizens.


    And for this reason, most of the Romanians believe that MPs, magistrates, servicemen, policemen, diplomats or pilots belong to an intangible privileged cast. For now the draft bill on the reform of the entire special pension system, among other things, provides for a gradual increase in the retirement age, at least 25 years of service for the magistrates, in order to be able to benefit from a public service pension or a 15% tax levied on sums above the medium gross salary.


    The provisions are actually amendments proposed by the ruling MPs after the latest talks with representatives of the European Commission in order to comply with the PNRR commitments so that the country may not lose the related funds. The political groups in the ruling coalition have hailed the amendments, whereas the opposition says they do not actually reform the special pension system.


    (bill)


  • Deputies review special pensions bill

    Deputies review special pensions bill


    The Chamber of Deputies is currently working on a draft law to reform the pension system used primarily for the magistrate corps and for army and interior ministry personnel, and which is not based on contributions to pension funds during the employment, but on other, special criteria.



    This reform is a benchmark in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. As long as the issue was not linked to financial considerations, Romanian politicians were reluctant to tackling this delicate topic, with the exception of Save Romania Union, in opposition, which has repeatedly lobbied for scrapping the special pensions.



    Before reaching the Chamber, the bill on the special pensions saw amendments from the ruling coalition parties-the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania.



    According to their authors, these amendments were designed to eliminate abuse and inequity, and the pension contribution principle will be, from now on, the primary factor in the entire public pension system. According to the new amendments, exemptions will be eliminated with respect to the standard retirement age, so that from now on diplomats and auxiliary staff in courts will also retire at the age of 65. The same principle will be applied gradually, until 2035, for military personnel as well.



    Also, until January 2034, the minimum relevant length of service requirement will be increased to 25 years for several categories of employees, including diplomats, Parliament clerks, and Court of Accounts staff.



    Under another amendment, certain categories of employees who previously had the same rights and obligations as magistrates or diplomatic staff will no longer benefit from special pensions.



    The calculation basis for special pensions is also being adjusted to the one used in the public system. Whereas so far special pension benefits were calculated based on the revenues during the last 12 months in office, from now on this period will be gradually raised to 300 months. No special pension will be higher than the salary received while in office.



    Also, a 30% tax rate will be levied on the special pension amount in excess of the current national gross average salary and in excess of the contribution principle.



    Another amendment cancels a mechanism used so far, under which magistrate pensions were raised proportionately with the increase of gross monthly allowances paid to active judges and prosecutors.



    “The retirement benefits paid to each citizen must reflect the importance of their lifes work and their contribution to the public system,” PM Nicolae Ciucă said. He also added that with the Pension Law and the Salary Law, Romania will have completed the reform package stipulated for this year in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, thus ensuring sustainability and equity in the public salary and pension sector.



    Quite predictably, the Higher Council of Magistrates has criticised the draft law on special pensions, warning that a sudden increase of the retirement age for judges and prosecutors might force over 1,500 magistrates out of the system. (AMP)


  • Prospects for the pension system

    Prospects for the pension system

    The retirement age will gradually increase to 65 for all citizens, and no pensions in Romania
    will be higher than the corresponding salary, the
    labour minister Marius Budăi said. In addition, some of the special allowances
    will be scrapped.


    These are some of the criteria agreed on
    with the European Commission, for the benchmark in the National Recovery and
    Resilience Plan to be checked. The criteria discussed last week in Brussels
    with respect to the new pension law include, among other things, the gradual
    increase of the retirement age and the fact that pension benefits will be
    calculated based on the entire contribution period. Previously, a specific
    period of employment, with higher salaries, would be selected for calculating
    the retirement benefits. Another
    principle is the gradual increase in the professional seniority required for
    certain categories of employees.


    On the other hand, certain privileges for
    various professional categories, such as magistrates and parliamentary civil
    servants, will be scrapped.


    Marius Budăi: Certain categories of allowances and benefits
    paid under special laws will be scrapped, and this will be achieved by no
    longer allowing for seniority to be considered as a whole, but only in the relevant
    position for retirement. This will be the case for magistrates, for instance,
    where the requirement will be to have worked for at least 20 years as a
    magistrate, instead of the overall seniority. The same goes for certain
    categories of civil servants in parliament.


    Marius Budăi also said that an impact study
    conducted by the World Bank had been submitted to the European Commission ahead
    of his visit to Brussels, and that talks were based on that document.


    The labour minister did not mention a
    deadline for the implementation of these new provisions, but said that
    amendments are to be tabled by the ruling coalition this week to the Chamber of
    Deputies, which is currently discussing the new pension law.


    Up until now, the standard retirement age
    in Romania was 63 years for women and 65 for men. Mention should be made that Lithuania,
    Romania, and Bulgaria are last placed in Europe in terms of life expectancy,
    with around 74 years as against roughly 83 years in Norway, Iceland and Ireland. More than half of the deaths reported
    in Romania are related to hazardous health behaviours: Romanians drink lots of
    alcohol and smoke too much, have unhealthy eating habits and do not exercise
    enough, the report concluded. (AMP)

  • March 24, 2023

    March 24, 2023

    EDUCATION Romania’s
    government has today approved a bill on the country’s participation in the 2025
    Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The government says
    Romania’s participation is intended to bring the Romanian education in line
    with developments in high-performing education systems in the world, and to
    review one’s own performances in relation to the other participating countries.
    The initiators argue this participation is important given Romania’s EU
    membership and its current observer status and future membership of the Organisation
    for Economic Co-operation and Development. PISA tests indicate the extent to
    which students are prepared to face current society challenges, and measures the
    basic skills of 15 year olds in areas like reading, maths and sciences.


    SCRAPPING In
    Romania, the Rabla Clasic and Rabla Plus scrapping programmes were launched on
    Friday. They are designed to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by promoting the
    use of non-polluting vehicles. The vouchers provided by the government may
    reach EUR 10,000 for the purchase of electric cars worth up to EUR 75,000.


    VISIT While in Chişinău, PM Nicolae Ciucă reiterated Romania’s
    support for neighbouring Republic of Moldova’s European accession efforts. In a
    meeting with his counterpart, Dorin Recean, Ciucă announced the building of new
    bridges across Prut river and the set up of new border checkpoints. In turn, PM
    Recean announced that very soon EUR 25m out of a non-reimbursable EUR 100m assistance
    package provided by Romania will be used for the development of village schools
    and infrastructure.


    PROTESTS France’s
    PM Élisabeth Borne condemned the violence accompanying Thursday’s protests
    against the pension reform, which increases retirement age from 62 to 64. Violent
    clashes have been reported in several cities. According to trade unions, attending
    the protests in nearly 300 localities were 3.5 million people, but the interior
    ministry argues there were only 1.2 million. Most protests were peaceful, but in
    Paris and some other cities incidents were reported. Some 150 police officers
    and gendarmes were injured and hundreds of violent people were arrested. Unionists
    are determined to try all legal means to cancel the law endorsed on Monday and
    to carry on protests. This weekend, each union will organise actions in their
    towns and regions, and a new call for strike and nation-wide protests is
    announced for Tuesday, March 28, Radio Romania’s correspondend in Paris reports.


    FOOTBALL Romania’s national football team plays against Andorra away
    from home on Saturday, in the first round of the EURO 2024 qualifiers. The final
    tournament will be hosted by Germany. Also on Saturday in
    Group I, which includes Romania, Belarus takes on Switzerland and Israel faces
    Kosovo. On March 28, the national team faces Belarus in Bucharest. The top 2
    teams in each of the 10 preliminary groups qualify into the final tournament,
    with the last 3 participants to be decided in March 2024, after the Nations
    League play-offs. (AMP)

  • Romania sees drop in pensioner numbers

    Romania sees drop in pensioner numbers

    According
    to the labour ministry, the number of Romanian pensioners at the end of June
    was 61,000 lower compared with the first half of 2020. Moreover, compared with the
    same period in 2019, the number is two times and a half lower, accounting for
    the biggest drop in the number of pensioners since 2013. With the Covid-19 pandemic
    still very much around, death is the first thing that comes to mind as an
    explanation for this decrease in the number of pensioners. Economic analyst Cătălin
    Ghinăraru explains:




    These
    exits from the system are either the result of natural causes or the fact that
    the legal conditions are no longer met. By this latter case I’m referring to retirement
    due to sickness. In this case, the retirement is not definitive, meaning that
    the person who is unable to work temporarily because of an accident or illness
    is not retired for good. They have to undergo regular physical examinations and
    if found that they are recovered, they must return to work and thus exit the
    pension system. So that’s one explanation.




    If
    we look, however, at the overall picture of the pension system, we also see a
    reduction in recent years of entries into the system, that is a drop in the retirement
    rate. Economic analyst Cătălin Ghinăraru talks about such cases:




    There’s
    also a circumstantial cause, so-to-speak, but the number of pensioners has been
    on the decrease for some time, roughly from the first decade of this century, as
    a result of structural changes. Firstly, the effects of laws no. 19 and 263 began
    to be seen, two laws that raised the retirement age beginning in 2015, to 65
    for men and gradually for women to reach 63 by 2030. Also, under a
    Constitutional Court ruling, women may choose to stay in work until 65, like
    men. So, we have this increase in the standard retirement age, which means that
    both men and women remain longer on the labour market. Moreover, stricter
    conditions are now in place for early retirement due to sickness. So, apart
    from the circumstantial factor related to the pandemic, which results in higher
    death rates among the elderly, there are also structural causes arising from a
    reform of the pension system and whose effects are now starting to become
    visible.




    Faced
    with an ongoing demographic crisis, like many other developed states, Romania
    anyway has an unbalanced ratio of pensioners and people in employment. So, at first
    sight, the decrease in the number of pensioners may look like good news. Cătălin
    Ghinăraru:




    The
    ratio between active persons and inactive persons and pensioners is not very
    good in Romania. The fact that the number of pensioners is seeing a slight
    decrease is, let’s say, an encouraging sign. We have a problem with the
    sustainability of this pension system, but we must also stress that this trend
    will not last much longer, given that from 2032 in particular, we will be
    seeing a sizeable generation going into retirement, those born at the end of the
    1960s, as a result of a baby boom encouraged by the communist authorities. If
    retirement conditions are maintained until then, we will, indeed, see a large
    intake of fresh pensioners.




    This
    may perhaps explain why there has been increasing talk recently about making
    new changes to the pension legislation aimed at raising the retirement age to around
    70, an idea that is met with opposition from the population. Economic analyst Cătălin
    Ghinăraru tells us how he sees the situation:




    The
    idea to raise the work-place pension contribution to 40 years was not received
    well, neither in Romania, nor in other EU countries. It’s quite a long time to
    be in employment and work conditions in Romania are not the most favourable.
    Many are even thinking they may not be able to finish these 40 years. This is
    why the current law, as well the draft of the future law, includes the
    possibility of purchasing pension contribution. It’s also true that behaviour
    may change in time. It’s possible that the generations of people born in the 1960s
    and 1970s will think differently from earlier generations, given that they entered
    the labour market in conditions of free market.




    For the time being, however, it’s hard to predict
    these generations’ choices and behaviour when they reach retirement age. It also
    remains to be seen what changes will be made to the legislation and how these
    will influence people’s views regarding retirement.

  • Changes in the public pension system

    Changes in the public pension system

    Marred by anomalies and inequities, as even the politicians who manage it admit, the public pension system in Romania must be fundamentally reformed. Legislative ideas and initiatives are not lacking, but their implementation is proving difficult. On Tuesday, the law on purchasing seniority in work was promulgated by President Klaus Iohannis. The normative act establishes the legal framework for completing, by the persons who do not have the quality of pensioner yet, the contribution period in the public pension system, necessary for granting an old-age pension, an early retirement pension or a partial early retirement pension.

    Those interested can buy a maximum of six years of seniority prior to reaching the standard retirement age. The payment of this social security contribution can be made in a single instalment or monthly, until August 31, 2023. Among the potential beneficiaries are the millions of Romanian expatriates, looking for a better life, usually in Western Europe, and who have incomplete contributions to the Romanian pension fund. There are also people in the country with incomplete work seniority either because, at some point, they remained unemployed or because they chose to free-lance, found various undeclared jobs and no longer paid contributions to the pension system.

    Experts do not yet dare to anticipate the effects of the new law. However, they have long warned that the entire system risks becoming unsustainable when the mass retirement of people born in the late 1960s and early 1970s takes place. Back them, following a decree by the former communist regime, abortions were banned, and Romania experienced a demographic boom.Subsequently, the birth rate has gradually decreased, and demographers and sociologists have long said that there is a risk that there will be no one to pay for the pensions of those born in the 60s and 70s.

    In addition to these demographic developments, there are situations that policymakers themselves call absolutely abnormal. This is the term used by the Minister of Justice, Stelian Ion, with reference to the fact that the former head of DIICOT (the anti-mafia prosecutor’s office), Giorgiana Hosu, is retiring at the age of 49. Retirement at a young age is a privilege for magistrates, the military, police, intelligence officers, politicians, diplomats and other beneficiaries of so-called special pensions, who do not observe the principle of contribution.

    Many of these special pensions are in the thousands of euros, while the pensions of ordinary contributors reach, on average, the equivalent in lei of only 300 euros. A law that provided for the taxation by 85% of special pensions exceeding 7,000 lei (1,400 euros) was invalidated by the Constitutional Court, whose members are themselves special pensioners. (MI)

  • Retirement upon request at 70

    Retirement upon request at 70

    After reaching the age of 61 for women and 65 for men, the employees of the Romanian public system will be able, if they wish, to remain active until the age of 70, but they will not be allowed to receive both a pension and a salary. The government of the center-right coalition in Bucharest has approved a bill in this regard, which is to be debated as a matter of urgency in Parliament. After the adoption of the bill in a government meeting, the Minister of Labor, Raluca Turcan explained:

    After reaching the age of 70, a person can request the recalculation of the pension in the public system, the advantage consisting in the increase of the monthly and annual points. It also determines institutions to re-establish their human resources policy. Retirement from a state job and the return to the public system, possibly on specially created positions, has never been and cannot become a modern, European-type human resources policy.

    Employees who have chosen to continue working may renounce this commitment at any time. On the other hand, the amounts unduly collected will be recovered from retirees. There are, however, exceptions to the provisions of the bill: dignitaries, teaching staff paid by the hour, personal and maternal assistants or members of the Romanian Academy will be able to receive a pension and a salary at the same time.

    From the opposition, the Social Democratic vice-president, Sorin Grindeanu, announces that the Social Democrats are looking forward for the document to reach Parliament, in order to challenge it at the Constitutional Court, considering that it includes provisions that violate the Fundamental Law:

    In recent weeks, we have seen a particular concern of the Government, of the governing coalition, for pensions, saying that the retirement age will grow, that pensions will be frozen, that there are commitments under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) with regard to reforms, etc. What we know about this bill is that it includes provisions that are not constitutional so we won’t hesitate to challenge it.

    More than 100,000 people over the age of 65 currently have an employment contract, Minister Raluca Turcan has said, explaining that the bill that prohibits the cumulation of the pension with the salary pursues several objectives, including capitalizing on the experience of employees that are reaching the threshold of retirement and equity for the staff in the public sector. In addition, the authorities say, in the medium and long run, against the background of an imbalance between the number of employees and retirees, the current public pension system will accumulate debts and, in a few years, will not be able to cope with payments.

    One of the opponents’ counterarguments is, however, that, in Romania, life expectancy is declining and is among the lowest in the European Union, so that, at the age of 70, many people may not be able to enjoy a pension after having contributed to the public system for decades. (MI)

  • Views on public pensions

    Views on public pensions

    Five million pensioners for a total of only 9 million employees, a steady population decline, a chronic shortage of labour fuelled by the migration of youth and, not least, a public pension budget always too small, requiring frequent loans, are elements that make Romania vulnerable in the medium and long run.



    After the Social Democratic government left power and the Liberals took over, debates on a large-scale reform of the public pension system came into the spotlight. The minister of labour and social protection Violeta Alexandru confirmed for the public radio station that analyses and assessments are conducted, with respect to a bill enabling employees to opt for a deferral of retirement from the age of 65 at present to 70. Such a delicate topic will be extensively discussed with all players, the labour minister promised:



    Violeta Alexandru: “Personally, I have no doubt that this topic requires extensive debate in society, given the insights I am getting from pensioners. Some of them are aware that an active life and extended employment entails benefits in the sense of higher pensions and feel that they need to work longer, whereas others intend to retire even sooner than the law stipulates. This is why a discussion is needed. In any case, such a debate will not work on the assumption of forcing people to stay employed longer, but would try instead to enable people to choose whether to retire sooner or not.



    The future of public pension systems is a concern across Europe. According to the labour minister, there are EU member countries where life expectancy figures are different from the ones in Romania, and where active measures are encouraged, including an increase in the retirement age. At the same time however, there are countries where things are not yet clear in this respect.



    In Romania, pension benefits will be increased in September by 40%, a raise introduced by the former left-wing government and which makes experts shiver at the prospects of severe budgetary imbalances. The National Bank governor Mugur Isarescu said that as long as the economy grows by 4%, one cannot go and raise pensions by 40%.



    Violeta Alexandru: “The money is earmarked for this. It is not so much a matter of impact on the budget, but rather a decision that we have made, namely the decision to comply with the law. We are concerned, however, with how the Social Democratic Party chose to legislate only with electoral purposes in mind, without considering all these signals given by those who monitor the economic development of Romania, and who know that huge, sudden leaps of this kind are not advised.



    Meanwhile, the Liberal government announced plans to increase contributions to privately-managed pension funds to 6%. So far, these funds have given good returns, making private pensions the only safe bet in a sea of uncertainties regarding the reliability of state-managed pensions.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)