Montenegrins will retire next year with 61 years of age and 40 years of service, while the age limit for retirement is halted for 66 years for a man and 64 for a woman, and for the average pension one-quarter of the lowest rates, unconnected years is excluded.

These are the results of the talks between the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare and trade unions, which at the beginning were determined not to give in to their demands, but social dialogue and the association of the two largest workers’ associations gave a positive result. The age limit is reduced, while a 40-year pension is conditional on 61 years, and not 65 years as was initially stated in the amendments to the Law on Pension and Invalidity Insurance.

These are the sixteenth amendments to the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance Act, which, since 2003, when the “reform” Law on Pension and Disability Insurance Act was adopted, drastically tightened the conditions for obtaining the right to a pension and the calculated pension amount. The consequences of such a “reform” policy of changing the pension system threaten to disregard the existence of a Pension and Disability Insurance Fund, which would have the aim to obtain the right to retirees to provide a dignified life at the late age, when those people rely on their retirement as, most commonly, the only source of existence.

Trade unions and the Ministry of Labor have reached an agreement, and there are no protests and petitions to call for a national referendum, and talks on other proposals are continuing. The general secretaries of both trade unions agreed that social dialogue in Montenegro has advanced in the last two years and gives results. For the first time, the two trade unions jointly and decisively stood behind the demands.

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