Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan stated on Thursday that the Government must take measures to halt unjustified possibilities for early retirement and, moreover, must intervene in the case of other professional categories that benefit from faster retirement schemes.
Bolojan was asked whether the retirement systems of other categories of special employees with non-contributory pensions would also be reviewed after the magistrates’ pension.
„We are in a situation where, alongside Italy, we rank at the bottom of the European Union in terms of the share of the active population involved in the economy. Consider that, between 55 and 64 years of age – still an age of full professional maturity – only 53% of Romania’s population is working in some form. Some, of course, have left the country, but many are already retired. (…) Each year more and more people retire, and they are not being replaced by the generations coming behind them. (…) Therefore, if we do not take measures to eliminate all possibilities for early retirement that are not justified by, I don’t know, very heavy work, highly toxic environments, or situations in which physical condition is an essential requirement for performing the job, then we will not be able to fix these problems,” Bolojan told private broadcaster Digi 24.
He added that, under the draft law to be adopted by the Government, magistrates will retire at a normal age – namely 65 – and their pension will be a reasonable one, no more than 70% of their last salary.
„This rule needs to be extended to other categories as well, of course taking into account their specificities. I gave an example: think of a gendarme assigned to guard a building, where, as we can see in many places, those on guard duty are 60-65 years old and nothing happens; and compare that with a gendarme in an intervention unit, who must wear full protective gear and, at the same time, is being sworn at and pelted with paving stones, and so on. In such cases, an accelerated retirement formula is needed. But we can no longer look at this situation without intervening and, in my view, regardless of who is in government, action must also be taken regarding the other categories that have much faster retirement schemes,” the prime minister added. AGERPRES
