Responding to Thursday's government proposal that the monthly pension bonus be included in the pension base as of next year, the Croatian Pensioners' Party (HSU) recalled that it had been demanding the same from the government of Jadranka Kosor and Ivo Sanader since 2007, but that the government had shown no will or desire to do it then.
"The addition of a single article to the existing law indicates yet another pre-election move by the government to win pensioners' votes, which is not inconsistent with the HDZ's pre-election style," HSU leader Silvano Hrelja said in a statement.
Hrelja said, however, that the HSU was not against that decision, because it would protect pensioners from a potential danger of the pension bonus being annulled in the future. "The HSU has already agreed on the inclusion of the bonus in the pension as part of the common platform with its coalition partners in the Alliance for Change."
The pension bonus is currently not taxed. With the inclusion of the bonus in the pension base, pensioners will not need fear that their right will be revoked, but at the same time about 70,000 pensioners will be receiving lower pensions, because the pension and the bonus will increase their pension base (HRK 3,200) which is subject to taxation, the HSU said.
The government's decision was also welcomed by the coordinator of the National Council for Pensioners and head of the Matica Umirovljenika association of pensioners' organisations, Josip Vincek, and the leader of the Pensioners' Union, Stjepan Krajacic.
Vincek said that the proposal was the result of good cooperation in the Council where the pensioners were given a chance to discuss and agree with the government on important issues. Both Vincek and Krajacic said that the move was most likely prompted by forthcoming parliamentary elections.
