State implementation “that violates human dignity”

Rame Citaku, the 83-year-old retiree from the village of Bajcina of the Podujevo municipality, which is presented at the Pensions' Office every six months. He visits this office four times a year twice as well as twice as he sends his paralyzed wife for presentation.

It's a lie to keep your head on the fact that you have to call every six months, whether I'm late or I'm not late. He needs to go away. I have my wife paralyzed and I have to bring her in a wheelchair so far [the Office of Pensions] they don't believe you without seeing her. You are obliged to send it”, Chitaku says.

Citaku receives 180 euros in retirement, while his wife only receives the pension of old age in the amount of about 100 euros.

If they did at least once a year, it would be better for us. We'd have a more relaxed head than this affair, says Citaku, who was a teacher before retirement.

To be presented to the pension office, the pensioner must have his ID, his retirement card, and an electric bill from his apartment or home.

Practice not planning to leave

The performance of pensioners at pension offices every six months is a legal obligation stipulated by the State-funded Law on Pension schemes.

Following the release of the COVID-19 Kosovo institutions, the pensioners decided to be released from the obligation to submit to the pension offices to prove they are still alive. Pensioners and associations representing them expected the practice to stop coming back.

But, in June of this year, the Ministry of Finance, Labour and Transfers announced that any pensioner in Kosovo is obliged to appear in the pension office's sports.

Such a practice does not exist in most countries in the region, including Albania, Northern Macedonia and Serbia. Hashim Berisha, 75, from the village of Sisevo, the Pristina municipality, receives a pension of only 100 euros because he had not been recognised by the contribution of the 1990s.

He says it's too much showing twice a year at the Pension Office.

Whatever we walk in, we can be warned, but some who cannot walk, are older, are sicker, for them very hard. There are those who can't get to the office to report, but family members keep them in cars on the street and officials should come to the road because he's unable to get out of the car and enter the facility to report every six months”, Berisha says.

Despite numerous demands by pensioners for removing this practice, which they consider an insult, the Kosovo government has not taken such a step.

Ministry of Finance: Since law says it, practice continues

Free Europe Radio has asked the Ministry of Finance, Labour and Transfers (MFTP), respectively, why implementation of this practice is necessary.

In response, it has been said that the Law defines this issue for state-funded pension schemes but has not been shown if it is scheduled to leave.

The performance of pensioners in pension offices' sports also occurs because of the lack of an integrated data system through which cases of retirement deaths are identified in order to stop paying retirement.

However, on MPT they tell Free Europe Radio that they regularly exchange data to avoid the possibility of executing retirement fees for any retired who may have died.

“Under the monthly MFPT base, either the Department of Pensions, trades data with the Civil Record Agency over the death of pensioners, there is also an agreement between the ministry and religious communities for identifying pensioners' death cases”, the MPPT response reported.

These agreements would have to be sufficient to abolish the demand to submit pensioners to pension offices every six months, says pensioner Isat Muja from Pristina.

“It has had to leave this obligation after these [the Ministry of Finance, Labour and Transfers] have only made arrangements with other institutions and religious communities to submit the data to any dying person. There should be no need for this rule anymore. The front was different, because people didn't warn dead family members, misusing pensions”, Muja says.

It is just a lack of recognition or lack of timely retirement cases that has held the demand for presentation twice a year for pensioners at pension offices.

The chairman of the Association of Pensioners of Kosovo, Nijazi Gashi, tells Radio Free Europe that at meetings they have had with government officials, it has been promised that in the future, pensioners will be obliged to appear only once a year. However, Gashi says there are numerous opportunities for institutions to receive real-time information so that they can stop payments immediately after the pensioner's death.

There's no one to be buried without a doctor's death, and a doctor gives proof that the person has passed away. The family with that testimony goes and unregisters the deceased in the motherbook, and the entire report can be obtained from the municipality. If someone does not announce and respect the procedure, it should be sanctioned under law”, Gashi says.

Ombudsman: Pensioners Are Harming Their Dignity

Six years ago, the Ombudsman had sent a report to the Ministry of Labour and Social Management “Ex-Officio” with recommendations pertaining to violating the dignity and right of retired pensioners.

This report addressed the demand of the institutions for pensioners to appear every six months to testify that they are alive so that the pension is not terminated.

The ombudsman had found in this report that such an obligation to pensioners violates human dignity, right this guaranteed with the Constitution, and that reduction or interruption of pension rights represents interference in the right to peaceful property joy.

In a response to Radio Free Europe, the Ombudsman considers that such a practice continues to be “discrimination and violates the dignity of pensioners”, especially of those who are advanced in age or with health problems.

The people's <x0 Group has recommended that the ministry function in relation to the status of pensioners, even through other forms, but has never accepted answers from the responsible side”, the ombudsman's response reported.

The ombudsman says pensioners should be allowed to use “in a calm and unhindered manner” to enjoy their right.

Errors cost half a million

However, in a report published this year by the National Audition Office (ZKA) has been found that the <x1nd> remaining persons on the payment lists, causes irregular payments and damages the Kosovo budget”.

According to the ZKA, by comparison of data between the Ministry of Finance, Labour and Transfers and the Civil Record Agency, it has been found that in 2021 a total of 3,314 payments worth 465,121 euros have been made for pensions after the benefits died.

The Ministry of Finance, Labour and Transfers had told Radio Free Europe in June that more than 150 thousand euros were returned to the Kosovo budget.

In the event of the pensioner's death, family members are legally obliged to issue an official declaration of death within 30 days.

In the past this process has been neglected in Kosovo, which according to institutions has caused damage to Kosovo's budget after pensions have continued to be executed.

But, based on the law, family members who do not report to their deceased neighbor can face material fines as well as be obliged to return illegally obtained pensions.

Based on data from the Kosovo Statistics Agency for 2021, Kosovo has about 143 thousand pensioners receiving basic age pensions, while about 50,000 contributing pensioners of age.

The basic age pension of about 100 euros receives each Kosovo citizen over 65 years of age.

While, pensioners are all 65-year-olds who have worked and paid contributions before retirement.