ZAGREB, 15 July 2021 - The Croatian parliament on Friday extended the eligibility to work part-time and receive a full pension to family pension beneficiaries.
The parliament amended the Pension Insurance Act by a majority vote, and the changes included the amendments put forward by Silvano Hrelja (HSU) whereby beneficiaries with the lowest pension will also be allowed to work four hours without their pension being reduced.
Beneficiaries receiving an old-age pension, early retirement pension, disability pension due to inability to work, or family pension who exercised their right by 31 December 2013 are entitled to the lowest pension in case of part-time employment.
That way, Hrelja explained, the material circumstances of those beneficiaries would also improve and they would be encouraged to join the world of work even after retirement.
The amended law enters into force on 1 August.
Farewell to plastic cotton buds, straws...
By a majority vote (with 75 votes in favor, two abstentions, and 43 votes against), the parliament adopted the Waste Management Act. When it enters into force, eight days after its publication in the Official Gazette, it will ban the sale of single-use plastic products, including plastic cotton buds, straws, cutlery.
As of 2022, a marketing ban on lightweight plastic carrier bags will be implemented, with the exception of very lightweight plastic carrier bags, and as of 3 July 2024 a marketing ban will apply to products with a plastic lid or stopper.
According to the new law, the state and counties, including the City of Zagreb, will be obliged to draft a waste management plan, an obligation they have not had so far, but local government units have.
The parliament also amended the acts on volunteering, on water, and on the establishment of the Hydrocarbon Agency.
It sent the bill to the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, on renewable energy sources and high-efficiency cogeneration, as well as some others, for a second reading.
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