Romanian lawmakers go ahead with special pensions bill despite magistrates' protests

The Chamber of Deputies adopted on June 26 the draft law on special pensions, but the bill will return to the Senate because several of the amendments passed by deputies "generate major differences in legal content" compared to the form previously adopted by senators, Digi24 reported.

Within 30 days of the enforcement of the law, persons who cumulate two or more such "special pensions," regulated by special laws, should opt for one of them.

The bill is seen as a mild form of phasing out the so-called "special pensions" for particular categories of budgetary employees and introducing principles similar to those of the public pension system.

But even so, it prompted protests from magistrates, who see their retirement age gradually increasing to 60 years (by 2030) and their pensions calculated under more restrictive terms. The revised bill, however, provides the option for those currently entitled to retirement to benefit from the provisions of the existing law for a period of five years.

The heads of prosecutor's offices in the country, however, decided to continue the protest decided last week "as the proposals formulated by the representatives of the judiciary were not subject to minimal debates [by lawmakers]," which would allow the adoption of a "fair and functional" bill, according to Bursa.ro.

For military, police and civil servants with special status in the penitentiary administration system in the field of national defence, public order and national security, the standard retirement age will increase to 65 years by 2035.

(Photo source: Vladek/Dreamstime.com)