BNS warns that thousands of pension recalculation decisions risk being wrongly issued

National Trade Union Bloc (BNS) draws the attention on the dangers connected to the recalculation of the pensions, considering that thousands of decisions for the recalculation of the pensions risk to be issued wrongly, and the activity of the pension houses risks to be blocked, said on Wednesday the trade union conference in a press release."We believe that, at the moment, the National Pension House is poorly managing the process of recalculation of pensions, ignoring the rights won by pensioners in court and the reality on the ground. The recalculation of pensions is being done in a dangerous haste, without ensuring that the computer system is up to date and able to capitalize on the final court decisions," the statement reads. BNS notes that in the Official Gazette no. 669 of 12.07.2024 was published Decision no. 28/03.06.2024 of the ICCJ on the settlement of some legal issues regarding the pension rights of the personnel who worked in electricity production units and thermal power plants. Although the ICCJ Decision is binding from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette for both the courts and the territorial pension offices, the latter have not followed up on the favorable resolution of the requests of pensioners who find themselves in the regulated situation, ignoring those established by the Supreme Court. At present, thousands of pensioners are deprived of their legal rights arising from the recalculation of their pensions, according to the BNS. The same situation applies to pensioners who have worked in forestry and who are in the situation covered by ICCJ Decision no. 36/2023. These categories of pensioners suffer because, although the decisions of the ICCJ are binding, the pension funds do not implement them, for various reasons, the union's statement says.   The cited source states that, in the context of recalculating pensions and issuing the new decisions, the computer program currently in use only works on the basis of the requirements laid down by law, but is not adapted to integrate and comply with court rulings, such as these ICCJ decisions, which bring essential clarifications on the rights of pensioners who have worked under special conditions. The lack of this update will lead to the erroneous issuance of thousands of recalculation decisions, the BNS leaders believe. "It is obvious that the computer program based on Law No. 263/2010 cannot be updated in such a short time to correctly reflect the new special working conditions," the statement added.   The BNS recalls that it has repeatedly drawn attention to these dangers, calling on the Ministry of Labor and the National Public Pensions House to urgently implement the necessary administrative measures to carry out all these repairs. "Under these conditions, we are faced with deepening inequities, which will disproportionately affect the most vulnerable among pensioners, those who, in fact, do not have the resources to verify the correctness of the decisions they receive," the BNS notes.   The BNS emphasizes that, despite the current enthusiasm created by the promised recalculations and pension increases, there will be thousands of other applications for recalculation, which will block the work of the territorial pension offices, suffocate the courts and create discrimination among pensioners.   As a result, BNS is calling for a rigorous recalculation so that every pensioner receives what is due to him or her, without errors and without compromises. "Pensioners should not have to suffer the consequences of hasty and careless administrative processes," the statement ends.   More than 3.8 million pensions, or 82.56%, were increased as a result of the recalculation, and for pensioners who benefit from the increases, the average pension increase is 622 lei, Labor and Social Solidarity Minister Simona Bucura-Oprescu said on Wednesday at the end of the government meeting. According to her, a memorandum approved Wednesday in the Government meeting provides for an increase in the credit limits for the state social security budget by 600 million lei.   The National Company "Romanian Post" (CNPR) will start distributing pension recalculation decisions on August 16.