Retirees will receive an annual supplement to their pension, colloquially known as the 13th pension. The amount of the supplement depends on the number of full years of pension service and the value of one year as determined by the government, which has not yet been set for this year. According to the law, the decision must be made by 31 October.
The annual supplement was introduced last year as a permanent right for retirees. At that time, the government set the value of one year of service at 6.00 euros, so retirees with 30 years of service received 180.00 euros, those with 35 years received 210.00 euros, and those with 40 years received 240.00 euros. The number of full years of service on which the pension is based is multiplied by the value of one year as determined by the government.
If the government were to set the value at 8.00 euros, a retiree with 30 years of service would receive 240.00 euros, and for 40 years of service the supplement would be 320.00 euros. If the value were 10.00 euros, retirees with 30 years of service would receive 300.00, and those with 40 years of service 400.00 euros. The president of the Croatian Union of Retirees, Višnja Stanišić, told HRT Dnevnik that an supplement of 8.00 euros per year of service is being informally discussed. Stanišić stated that 8.00 euros would be humiliating and that the previous year's 6.00 euros were also humiliating for retirees. She also noted that the government set last year's amount without consulting the union. The Ministry of Labour responded that it would make the decision on the annual supplement taking into account the fiscal capacity of the state budget. The figure of 8.00 euros has not yet been officially confirmed.
The Croatian Union of Retirees is calling for the value of one year of service to be linked to 80 per cent of the current pension value. The current value as of 1 July is 15.64 euros, following an increase of 5.40 per cent. According to the model proposed by the union, one year of service would be worth approximately 12.51 euros. According to this model, a retiree with 30 years of service would receive approximately 375.00 euros, for 35 years of service the amount would be approximately 438.00 euros, for 40 years slightly over 500.00 euros, and for 45 years of service almost 563.00 euros. This is a demand by the union which the government has not yet accepted. The union is also calling for the supplement to be paid twice a year.
Retirees do not need to submit an application for the annual supplement. HZZO pays it automatically in December, without the need for a specific decision. The calculation includes full years of pension service in Croatian pension insurance on which the pension is based. This includes insurance service, insurance service with extended duration, special, additional and added service. For beneficiaries whose pension is not based on pension service, the supplement is calculated based on 15 years of service. For family pensions, the full years of service of the deceased beneficiary are taken into account, or the service on which the family pension was based after the death of the insured. For a pension due to an injury at work or occupational disease, 40 years of service is generally calculated, unless the beneficiary has a longer actual service. No tax is levied on the supplement. The supplement does not enter the income threshold for exemption from paying the premium for supplementary health insurance and cannot be the subject of enforcement.
The final amounts of this year's supplement will be known after the government's decision, the deadline for which is 31 October. The payment will follow in December. The government, on the proposal of Minister Alen Ružić, must determine the value of one year of service for 2026 by 31 October. In the Croatian Union of Retirees, it is stated that they will demand that the value of a year of service be 10.00 euros. In public, proposals have been heard that a year of service be valued at 15.00 euros. From retirees, it can be heard informally that 8.00 euros is the minimum below which one should not go. This amount is the most likely for the calculation of the 13th pension.
If we assume that the value of one year is 8.00 euros, the supplement for an average of 32 years would be 256.00 euros, retirees with 20 years of service would receive 160.00 euros, and those with 40 years of service would receive 320.00 euros. According to the proposal of the Croatian Union of Retirees, which demands that the value of service be 10.00, retirees with an average of 32 years of service would receive 320.00, for 20 years of service the supplement would be 200.00, and a retiree with 40 years of service would receive 400.00 in annual supplement. According to the proposal of the Croatian Union of Retirees, which demands a value of 12.51, retirees with an average of 32 years would receive a supplement of 400.32, for 20 years of service it would be 250.20, and for those with 40 years of service, 500.40. In the event that the value of a year is 15.00, retirees with an average of 32 years could count on an annual supplement of 480.00, those with 20 years of service would receive 300.00, and retirees with 40 years of service could count on 600.00. Last year, when a year was valued at 6.00, a retiree with an average of 32 years received 192.00, those with 20 years of service received 120.00, and those with 40 years of service received 240.00.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said at a government meeting that they promised that the average pension by 2028, so approximately in two months, would reach between 750.00 and 800.00, and that it is already so with the supplement. Plenković highlighted the importance of last year's Pension Insurance Act, which introduced a permanent annual supplement dependent on pension service, and noted that the government has always increased the lowest pensions by three percent. The exact value of one year for the 13th pension should be known by 9 October, when the National Council for Retirees meets, with this being the main topic. From HZZO, it was stated that the decision on the value of one year of service for the purposes of the annual supplement for 2026 has not yet been made. HZZO states that in accordance with the Pension Insurance Act, the Government of the Republic of Croatia decides on the amount of funds required for the payment of the annual supplement to retirees by 31 October, taking into account the fiscal capacity of the state budget, and that it cannot comment on informal information about possible amounts before the official decision is made.
