After more than a decade of reform in the pension system, the government is reviewing it again, to increase low pensions, leading to more funds for the elderly, also from economic growth.

Deputy Minister of Economy, Culture, and Innovation, Olta Manjani, announced that the new pension reform will be ready within the year.

According to Manjani, the foundations of the 2014 scheme will only be strengthened. She informed me that the increase in the retirement age will happen sooner than the year 2056 when age equality for men and women was predicted.

"When the reform was approved, the retirement age for women was 60 years old and for men was 65 years old. Currently, the gradual increase in the retirement age for women has begun and we are at 61 years and 10 months, 2 months of increase every year, and in 2032, the increase in the retirement age for men will also begin. This could be one of the interventions where instead of the year 2056 for age equalization, it will be brought closer to 2050 or earlier," the deputy minister said in a media interview.

Manjani also explained that the indexation and pension calculation formula will not change. Until the scheme is ready, the deputy minister says that pensioners will continue to be supported with bonuses. She assured that there will be no differentiated indexation favoring low pensions, as it affects the fundamental principle on which we have established the scheme, which is the contributory one.

The social pension is also under discussion, where the proposals are that it should not be received automatically after reaching the age of 70, but to receive as much as they have contributed.

“The World Bank has proposed that the social pension be linked to the amount of contributions. So if someone has contributed for 10 years, they should receive the equivalent of the contributions of these years and not automatically benefit from what can be considered a social pension,” said Manjani.

Manjani also stated that in cases where contributions have been paid above the real salary and the years of work have been completed, the pension they receive reaches up to 50% of the average salary.