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Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The new old-age pensions last year were significantly lower than the existing average pension.
According to official data from the Social Security Institute, the average old-age pension at the national level for 2024 amounts to 19,609 lekë, while the average pension amount for new beneficiaries connected in the same year is only 17,022 lekë.
A difference of nearly 2,600 lek or 13% suggests that citizens retiring in 2024 have much lower payments compared to previous generations.
This trend could have long-term social and economic consequences, especially if it is not accompanied by support measures for the most vulnerable beneficiaries. The public pension system faces the challenge of ensuring a fair and sustainable level for all citizens, regardless of when they retire.
Sources from the Social Security Institute indicate that new pensions are coming out lower due to unfilled periods of insurance years as a result of high informality in the labor market during the transition.
Many beneficiaries are failing to complete the required insurance period for a full pension. The reform, which took a decade to work on and began to be implemented in early 2015, was based on increasing the years of social security contributions from 35 to 40 years by 2032 and gradually increasing the retirement age for women by two months per year, to reach 63 years in 2032 and 67 years for both sexes in 2056.
Last year, more than 38 years of insurance were needed to receive a full pension, but official data shows that in 2024 the average years of insurance for new pensions were 26.7, well below the criteria for a full pension.
Of the total old-age pensions, more than half of them, over 52 percent, received partial payments in 2024 according to official data in 2024. This percentage was further expanded from the level of 49.7% in 2023.
To close the gap between the existing average pension and the new pensions linked in 2024, several policies are needed.
Experts and international institutions recommend a combination of policies against informality in the labor market, supportive fiscal policies, and a thorough reform of the pension formula as the most effective way to narrow the gap between old and new pensions. Otherwise, this gap will grow to the detriment of future generations of pensioners./ Monitor
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