Romanian Pensioners Face 15-Day Deadline In Pension-Wage Choice

The provision is included in a draft law that was analyzed in a Government meeting on Wednesday, as the executive intends to assume responsibility for it before the Parliament.

If the net pension is higher than the gross average salary the pensioners must choose between suspending pension while they are still employed and ceasing work.

The written decision has to be submitted within 15 days after the enforcement of the law.

If the pension is smaller than the gross average salary it will be cumulated with the income resulted from activities based on an individual labor contract, labor report or job assignment document.

Romania saved RON60 million (EUR1=RON4.2372) to the 2009 budget by forbidding the cumulus of pensions higher than the gross average salary and salary.

At the moment, the total sum paid for the pension-salary cumulus is estimated at RON25,544,995.

If pensioners do not comply with the decision taken by the Government the labor contract will be automatically annulled.

If the 15-day term imposed by the executive is observed the pension payment will be suspended a month after the person stated the option for continuing work.

Employers have the obligation to act if employees do not abide under the law. Infringement of the legal provisions will be sanctioned.

The Romanian Senate’s Labor Commission notified the Government in June of disparities in the pension-wage cumulus law, namely if the full pension should be suspended or only the amount greater than the gross average wage, with the Labor Ministry supporting the first option.

According to an official document the Senate’s Labor Commission has asked the Government for a position on the new draft law regulating the pension-wage cumulus system, as aspects related to people who are employed and receive a pension higher than the gross average salary need to be clarified.

The draft law submitted to Parliament debate provided two options: either the pension is kept and salary income is renounced; or the salary is kept and the difference between the pension and the gross average salary is discarded.

The Labor Ministry replied it supports keeping the pension and renouncing the salary or keeping the salary and renouncing the full amount of the pension.

The government passed a draft law in April stipulating that retirees who took new government jobs are prohibited from collecting state pensions if their pensions top the average monthly wage, set at RON1,700.

Romania’s national prognosis commission saw the average gross monthly wage at RON1,693 this year and RON1,832 in 2010.