The Pension and Disability Insurance Fund transfers around 13.7 billion denars annually—more than €220 million—to the Health Insurance Fund to cover pensioners’ healthcare costs, the fund’s director, Nikolla Memov, said.

Memov believes this financing model should be reviewed and that these costs should no longer be covered by the pension contributions of current employees.

Currently, 11.8% of net pension payments is allocated to pensioners’ health insurance. Until December 31, 2025, the rate was 13%, the director of the Pension Fund explained.

“On an annual basis, this amount reaches 13.7 billion denars, or more than €220 million,” Memov said.

According to him, these funds come from pension insurance contributions paid by employees, placing an additional burden on the fund.

“There must be a change, and another way must be found to finance pensioners’ health insurance, rather than the current model—through pension insurance contributions,” he added.

North Macedonia’s pension system is based on intergenerational solidarity, with employees’ contributions used to finance the entitlements of current pensioners. The pension and disability insurance contribution is 18% of gross salary, while for people covered by the two-pillar system, six percentage points are transferred to the second pillar.

Memov’s proposal is not intended to reduce the cost of pensioners’ health insurance, but to change the source from which that cost is financed.

Such a change would allow some of the funds to remain in the Pension Fund. However, Memov has not yet specified what the alternative source for securing the €220 million would be.

The post Memov: More Than €220 Million Transferred Annually for Pensioners’ Health Insurance, Financing Scheme Changes Needed appeared first on Albeu.com.

The State Audit Office audited the financial statements and the compliance of the operations of the Health Insurance Fund of the Republic of North Macedonia for 2024. The auditors issued a qualified opinion on the fair and accurate presentation of the financial statements, as well as on the compliance of operations with the relevant legal provisions. Although measures have been taken to implement recommendations from previous audits, weaknesses remain and require systemic improvements.

According to the audit findings, the Fund’s liquidity is affected by the early payment of funds derived from contributions by the competent institutions. As a result, it is more difficult to settle obligations to healthcare institutions on time, within the agreed reimbursement limits.

Specifically, as of February 2026, the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund’s unpaid contribution obligations amounted to 8,415,865 thousand denars, or approximately 137 million euros. Meanwhile, the gap between planned funds and their actual realization continues to widen.

Due to insufficient budget funds, at the end of 2024 the Ministry of Health had 2,136,300 thousand denars in unpaid funds, approximately 35 million euros, for contributions for uninsured persons.

Problems were also identified in the operation and development of the Fund’s information system. The audit found a lack of strategic documents, insufficient human resources, only partial operation of several modules, and limited scope for their further development. The establishment of the electronic prescription system has also been delayed, while the system’s current controls during the issuance and billing of prescriptions do not guarantee an adequate level of oversight.

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