ADOPTION OF AMENDMENTS TO LAW ON PIO IN FBIH: NEWS FOR PENSIONERS

SARAJEVO, JUNE 1 (ONASA) – Representatives in the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted amendments to the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance (PIO), which deleted the article of the Law, in accordance with the Judgment of the Constitutional Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The article of the Law on PIO, which provided for the suspension of pension payments to beneficiaries who acquire the status of insured in the compulsory insurance, has been deleted, with exceptions. This enables pension beneficiaries in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to exercise their right to an old-age pension and establish an employment relationship at the same time, regardless of whether they have achieved the right to a full or early old-age pension.
Accordingly, an amendment to the Article of the Law on PIO was made. According to this amendment, the payment of pension is suspended in the case when a person receiving a family or disability pension establishes a working relationship. The reason for this suspension lies in the fact that the right to a disability pension is acquired by an insured person who has been diagnosed with a category I disability, i.e. a complete loss of working ability.
The Law on PIO stipulates that a complete loss of working ability (I category of disability) exists when it is determined that the insured person is not capable of working at his workplace, nor can he be trained for other jobs that correspond to his professional training.
Allowing the beneficiary of a disability pension to acquire the status of an insured in the mandatory insurance would be contrary to this principle, and would create room for abuses and lead to an increase in the share of disability pensions in the pension system of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Similar reasons lead to the suspension of the payment of the family pension in case of establishing an employment relationship. Family pension is a derivative right that serves as protection for the family members of the deceased pensioner, but only if they are not covered by compulsory insurance and do not earn income based on employment.
With these amendments to the Law on PIO, we protect the fundamental principles on which the pension and disability insurance system in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is based, and fulfill the obligation according to the verdict of the Constitutional Court, announced the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. (end)