Reaction to the article 'Higher salary now, lower pension tomorrow' published by Vijesti

Manipulative portrayal of pension calculations: Future pensions will not be lower

In the interest of providing accurate and complete information to the public, the Office of the Prime Minister of Montenegro issues the following statement:

The information that future pensions will be lower is incorrect.

The journalist's article assumes that an employee's salary will remain unchanged until the end of their working life (assuming there will be no increase in salary, even due to years of service or economic trends). This assumption is unrealistic under current legal provisions.

The article explains pension calculations using only one parameter, deliberately ignoring other important factors, indicating a tendency to misinform the public in a biased and malicious manner.  

The article focuses solely on the annual personal coefficient when discussing pension calculations, leading to the incorrect conclusion that future pensions will be reduced. This is misleading, as pension amounts are calculated using two additional key factors: the length of service and the value of the personal point, which will undoubtedly increase due to the reforms (driven by the rise in average salaries).

Moreover, pensions are adjusted three times annually as per the legal requirement to account for changes in average salary and inflation. This adjustment affects the value of the personal point, which the article fails to mention.

The method of pension calculation presented on the front page of Vijesti contradicts the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance. The calculated pension of €359.60 is below the legally mandated minimum pension of €450 in Montenegro, and pensions cannot fall below this threshold.

As previously announced by the 44th Government during the increase of the minimum pension on 1 January of this year, following the introduction of the "Europe Now 2" programme, further pension increases will result from the rise in average salaries and the regular adjustment of pensions accordingly.

It is particularly surprising to see the concern of anti-government coalition regarding the increase in both the minimum and average salary under the "Europe Now 2" programme, which clearly indicates their intention to revert to the past, when the average salary in Montenegro grew by only €40 over the course of ten years, and pensions were adjusted by just a few euros annually.