The rules for combining pension with a state salary could change significantly. Individuals who receive service pensions or military pensions and choose to continue working in a public institution would only receive 15% of their pension.
The Government’s draft law was tacitly adopted by the Senate on Wednesday, after the deadline for debate and voting expired, according to Digi24. This means that the senators did not actually vote on the project, but it is considered adopted because it was not resolved within the specified timeframe.
The Chamber of Deputies is the decision-making body, so the measure is not yet in effect.
According to the project, recipients of a service pension or a state military pension who wish to continue working in the public sector will have to accept an 85% reduction in their pension for the entire period they are employed by the state.
In practice, they will receive their salary and only 15% of their service or military pension.
The Government justifies the measure by the desire to avoid situations where the same person receives two full incomes from public funds simultaneously - a service pension and a salary.
Bolojan estimated there are at least 15,000 such cases
When the Government adopted the project in April, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan estimated that there are at least 15,000 employees in such a situation and explained the measure also by the need to reduce expenses and the number of positions in the administration.
He argued that when staff reductions are necessary, it would not be fair for an employee without another source of income to leave, while someone "who retired at 50-52 years old, rehired the next day by the state" remains and already receives a pension.
Bolojan also emphasized at that time that the measure does not target those with contributory pensions: "If you worked for a contributory pension, and you have all the seniority, there is no problem." Additionally, the reduction does not apply to pensioners who choose to work in the private sector.
The Government had requested the project to be urgently debated. In April, when it approved the initiative, the Executive announced that it was sending it to Parliament with this request. Four months later, the project passed the Senate without debate and voting, through tacit adoption, after the legal deadline expired.
Working in the public sector is possible until the age of 70
The project also regulates the situation of those who reach the retirement age but wish to remain in the public system.
Continuing activity will be possible, with the annual agreement of the employer or competent institution, until reaching the age of 70.
In the case of public servants, the request to continue activity must be submitted at least 30 days before meeting the retirement conditions.
For recipients of service and military pensions, staying or being rehired in the public sector will entail accepting an 85% reduction in the pension.
Other changes for public servants
The project also introduces a six-year limit for suspending the service relationship for individuals working in European Union institutions or international organizations. The Government argues that this would help avoid long blockages of positions in the administration.
New rules are also provided for institutions undergoing reorganizations and where positions are to be abolished.
Employees on notice must be presented with vacant public positions for which they meet the requirements. If multiple employees are eligible for the same position, the institution may conduct a selection exam, and the notice will be suspended until the procedure is completed.
Criticism after the project passed without a vote
The note on the tacit adoption was presented in plenary on Wednesday by the President of the Senate, Mircea Abrudean. The deadline for debating and voting on the project had expired on July 28.
USR Senator Violeta Alexandru described it as a "disservice" that the project passed tacitly, as reported by Digi24. PNL Senator Maria Horga, on the other hand, accused PSD of blocking the initiative "because they have an aversion to reforms."
The project now goes to the Chamber of Deputies, which is the decision-making body. Only after a favorable vote by the deputies, promulgation, and publication of the law in the Official Gazette, the new rules can come into effect.