Mickoski: Pensions are secure, retirement age will not change for now

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said today that the country’s pension system is stable and secure, calling on pensioners not to worry. According to him, no increase in the retirement age is planned for the time being.

Mickoski said the government is reviewing all proposals and remarks related to the reforms, but that the final decision rests with it. He stressed that financial stability should not be secured by restricting citizens’ rights, but by identifying misused funds and redirecting them toward genuine needs.

In this context, the prime minister referred to the reform of the social protection sector, where, according to him, significant irregularities have been identified.

“We have phantom beneficiaries or beneficiaries who, according to all parameters, should not be beneficiaries of guaranteed minimum assistance or social security. This is not a small amount of money; if you analyze it on an annual basis, you arrive at a figure of between one billion and one and a half billion denars,” Mickoski said in response to a journalist’s question about the need to reform the pension system.

As another example of the impact of the government’s reforms, he mentioned AD ESM. Mickoski said detailed inspections are being carried out in several sectors of the company, while its financial results have changed: from a loss of 180 million euros in the past, the company has now recorded a positive balance in the first three quarters of this year and a profit of around 6.5 million euros./Telegrafi/