Warning: Men at the age of 66 can lose both job and pension

The Association of Lawyers of Montenegro called on the relevant ministry, i.e. the Government, to prepare amendments to the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance as soon as possible, in cooperation with social partners, which would include the provision of a single age limit for exercising the right to an old-age pension, with a minimum insurance period of 15 years. They warn that by repealing the provisions of the Pension and Disability Insurance Act, men at the age of 66 may be left without a job and without a pension.

"Due to the decision of the Constitutional Court, which repealed the provision of the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance, which provided that the right to an old-age pension can be exercised by a male insured when he reaches the age of 66, i.e. a woman when she reaches the age of 64 and has 15 years of insurance experience, we point out that said decision will result in discrimination against men, with much more dangerous consequences compared to the reasons that the Constitutional Court stated in the explanation of its decision", according to the Association of Lawyers of Montenegro.

They explain that this is due to the fact that after the repeal of Article 17, paragraph 1, the insured person is a man (if he did not work in the sectors of the metal processing and mining industry; in jobs where seniority is calculated with increased duration in the sectors of defense, security and enforcement of criminal sanctions or if is not the parent of a child with severe developmental disabilities who is a beneficiary of personal disability allowance), can exercise the right to an old-age pension only if he cumulatively fulfills the two conditions of 40 years of insurance experience and 61 years of age.

"This is because the so-called The "transitional period" in which the insured - men could exercise the right to an old-age pension under more favorable conditions compared to the solutions from Article 17 of the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance, expired in 2019, while women can still exercise that right, in accordance with articles 197đ and 198a of the said law", say the Association of Lawyers.

They note that in accordance with the Labor Law, the employment relationship ends by force of law when the employee reaches the age of 66 and has at least 15 years of insurance experience, while the Law on Civil Servants and State Employees provides for a more favorable solution, i.e. age limit of 67 years of age and 15 years of insurance experience.

Based on the above, it can be concluded that a man who reaches 66 or 67 years of age - if he worked in a state body (and 15 years of insurance experience), and who does not fulfill the second condition: 40 years of insurance experience (which is provided for in Article 17, paragraph 2 of the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance), will be excluded from the labor market, without the possibility of exercising the right to an old-age pension.

"Therefore, a man will not be treated the same as a woman with whom he is in a comparable situation, which is an example of direct discrimination. The only possibility that a man can use, in order not to end up in the situation of being a beneficiary of material security, is to submit a request for an early old-age pension, which - according to the currently valid solutions - is extremely unfavorable for insured persons. This is because the amount of this pension is reduced by 0.35 percent for each month of early retirement before the age of 66 (male), and this reduction is permanent", explained the Association of Lawyers of Montenegro.

They emphasize that the aforementioned consequences were also recognized by the Constitutional Court, which, after considering the request for reconsideration of the decision in paragraph two, set a deadline of one month from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette of Montenegro, within which deadline the Government is obliged to submit to the Parliament of Montenegro a draft law will regulate the right to old-age pension of the insured (man, woman) in accordance with the Constitution, in accordance with the legal positions of the Constitutional Court expressed in this decision.

For this reason, the Association of Lawyers calls on the relevant ministry, i.e. the Government, to prepare amendments to the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance as soon as possible, in cooperation with social partners, which would include the provision of a single age limit for exercising the right to an old-age pension, with a minimum insurance period of 15 year.

"In addition, we appeal that special attention be paid in the coming period in order to eliminate the consequences of the "legal experiments" we witnessed in the previous period - which related to changes to the Labor Law in order to deal with "undesirable individuals" in system. Therefore, it is necessary for the line ministries, in cooperation with social partners, to harmonize the solutions in the Labor Law and the Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, in order to foresee a single age limit for the termination of the employment relationship by force of law", concludes the Association of Lawyers.

Source: CDM