April the 26th, 2023 - Approximately 700,000 Croatian pensioners are set to be paid out more cash as part of a government decision to help them with the rising costs of energy.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the government has not decided on a means test or limit for these payments set to be paid out to a large number of Croatian pensioners, meaning that it will be possible for them receive this state payment while having numerous other incomes in addition to their monthly pension, according to Pension/Mirovina.hr.

The energy supplement will be paid out to around 700,000 Croatian pensioners in amounts ranging from 60 to 160 euros. To be more precise in regard to who can expect the payment, it will received by everyone who has a pension of up to 610 euros per month. That means that the cash will also be paid out to those wealthier retirees who have their own houses, apartments or other forms of income besides their monthly pensions. The estimated funds for this so-called energy payment amount to around 64.3 million euros.

It should be noted that the payment will be made on two different occasions. The first will be paid out this Friday for Croatian pensioners who receive only their pension as their monthly income, while the second date will fall in July 2023, where the government energy payment will be paid out into the accounts of those who have a foreign pension, and those beneficiaries who are currently in the process of exercising their right to access their pension.

The amounts of this assistance are also known, and they vary depending on the amount of the pension in question. As such, those Croatian pensioners with pensions of up to 260 euros per month will receive an energy payment supplement in the amount of 160 euros, while those whose pensions amount from 470.01 to 610 euros will receive 60 euros in government aid.

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April the 26th, 2022 - Some Croatian pensioners have received a mere 180 kuna more on their bank accounts, but it hasn't come in the form of some sort of generosity from the powers that be, and this system error means they will need to pay it back.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, back at the end of last year, during the process of the payment of pensions to Croatian pensioners, there was a "system error" within the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute, which caused 1258 Croatian pensioners to accidentally receive slightly increased pensions. The amount of wrongly redirected money amounts to 226,080.92 kuna, which means that the average pensioner affected by this error received about 180 kuna or so more on their accounts than they're entitled to.

Deputy director Ivo Bulaja spoke out about the situation for the portal Mirovina.hr/Pension.hr, and he described it as a "minor system error" involving both human and technical factors. He explained that 10 percent of the money wrongly paid out to Croatian pensioners has already been returned, and that the remaining 90 percent is currently being worked on.

''We've sent an inquiry to the Pension Insurance Institute to look into how this mistake was made and in what way Croatian pensioners will have to return the money that doesn't belong to them. Some people who received increased amounts saw for themselves that something was wrong, and they contacted the Bureau about the instructions for the return of the funds. However, it seems that the Institute is heavily insured in such cases because such system errors are even covered in the Pension Insurance Act.

"A person who receives their pension or some other income from the Pension Insurance Institute that doesn't belong to them is obliged to return it to the Institute as they've acquired it without the proper grounds. The obligation to return the funds they've received without grounds to do so exists when the pension or other form of income is paid in a larger amount than the due amount,'' reads Article 166 of the Pension Insurance Act.

In addition, the decision on the recognition of the right to a pension states that the beneficiary is obliged to report to the Institute "any change caused by personal or actual circumstances that affect the right or scope of exercise of this right'' within a period of just fifteen days.

The Croatian Pension Insurance Institute (HZMO) will determine the amount of improperly paid funds ex officio by a decision within their administrative procedure, and the beneficiaries will state in the notification the account number (payment instructions) to which the amount can be returned.

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April the 2nd, 2022 - Croatian retirees, we well as other groups of people legally resident in Croatia, can now request free supplementary health insurance coverage (dopunsko zdravstveno osiguranje) through the Croatian Health Insurance Fund, HZZO.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, HSU (Croatian Party of Pensioners) has called on all Croatian retirees, but also other residents to whom this new and very welcome rule applies, to make sure they take the opportunity to exercise their right to free supplementary health insurance.

Many Croatian retirees, as well as other groups of individuals who fall into the category of people to whom this applies, have still not exercised their right to supplementary health insurance at the expense of the state and may be needlessly paying for it, if they have it already. Amendments to the Law on Voluntary Health Insurance which came into force back in November last year, at the initiative of the HSU, raised the threshold.

This new free policy for an additional form of health insurance through HZZO can be realised by anyone who has an income of up to 2,065.60 kuna per family member, or 2,582 kuna for a single person.

If this is you, then what needs to be done?

If you are a Croatian retiree or fall into one of the aforementioned categories of people, you can make your way to your nearest local HZZO office and fill out the appropriate form to conclude your contract on supplementary health insurance at the expense of the state. A clerk working there will be able to point you in the right direction and guide you through the process and what you can expect from it if necessary.

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May the 2nd, 2021 - The payment of Croatian COVID pension supplements for the country's retirees has begun. To briefly recall, the decision was pending up until quite recently after several other European countries decided to add funds to the pensions received in their countries.

Now that the details have finally been ironed out, the Croatian COVID pension supplements are beginning to be paid out with the regular monthly amounts received in the bank accounts of Croatian pensioners.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, those with a pension of up to one and a half thousand kuna per month will receive an additional 1200 kuna on top of their normal monthly income. Retirees with incomes from one and a half to two thousand kuna will receive a supplement of 900 kuna, and those with a pension of two to three thousand kuna per month will receive an additional 600 kuna bonus.

The smallest Croatian COVID pension supplements are for other groups with higher monthly pensions. The smallest amount of 400 kuna will go to those pensioners with a pension of three to four thousand kuna per month. The second payment is scheduled for July for the beneficiaries of this scheme who receive a foreign pension in addition to a normal Croatian one.

''In total, we have provided about 600 million kuna for this purpose and the rest of the amount will be paid in the future phase for those who receive a pension from two countries (meaning a foreign pension as well as a Croatian one). This is an incentive for Croatian pensioners and a supplement that makes sense to compensate for certain costs incurred during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic,'' stated Labour Minister Josip Aladrovic, and as was reported by HRT.

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