Romania's PM explains pension-wage cumulation ban will apply only to special pensions

Romanian prime minister Ilie Bolojan, on November 19, in an interview given to ProTV and quoted by Hotnews.ro, explained that the pension-wage cumulation ban will apply only to the so-called special pensions, namely those not based on past contributions, as opposed to all pensions as implied by Social Democrat (PSD) labour minister Florin Manole. The difference is major, since many retired teachers and medical doctors still serve in places where their expertise is needed.

"This project refers to all categories of pensions, regardless of whether they are exclusively contributory," minister Manole claimed on November 18, according to Hotnews.ro. His statement promoted public concerns about the broad target of the bill.

The wage-pension cumulation emerged as a public concern because of the large number of special pension recipients, retired from law enforcement, judiciary, military, or intelligence services, hired back in the public sector or in the private sector. In any other case, the wage-pension cumulation is fundamentally justified, even when the wage is paid from the public budget, as long as the pension is fully contributive.

In an interview with ProTV one day later, PM Ilie Bolojan explained that a project is to be adopted that would prohibit the cumulation of pension with salary in the case of pensions that are non-contributory, that is, those special pensions.

"We have at least 15,000 positions where we have people who are practically retired, who are re-employed immediately after retirement in the public sector. At the moment when this ban is enforced, a good part of these people who are employed would opt for one or another and would very likely give up their public sector position. When those positions become vacant, they can no longer be filled. And so, a reduction in personnel expenses also means this method. It does not mean salary cuts. In this situation, it is appropriate to adopt this project respecting the constitutional provisions in such a way as to have these effects," the prime minister explained.

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