| Abstract: | The right to social security is regulated by the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, which provides that it is the duty of the state to guarantee social security for its residents. The right to a pension is explicitly mentioned in Article 50 of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia as one of the rights falling within the scope of the right to social security. The right to a pension is assured through the pension and disability insurance scheme, which is one of the social insurance schemes in the Republic of Slovenia.
An old-age pension is one of the rights arising from compulsory pension and disability insurance. It is of a permanent nature and periodically payable, enabling the beneficiary to maintain social security even after the end of their active working life. For recognition of the right to an old-age pension, two requirements must be met, which are laid down by law, namely the age requirement and the contribution period requirement. In the Republic of Slovenia, the amount of the pension depends on the length of the period of inclusion in the compulsory pension and disability insurance, and on the amounts of the bases on which contributions were paid. This information is used to determine the accrual rate and calculate the pension base, from which, based on the accrual rates, the pension amount is then calculated.
Since the independence of the Republic of Slovenia to the present time, three reforms of the pension and disability insurance scheme have been implemented (ZPIZ, ZPIZ-1, and ZPIZ-2). These reforms changed, among other things, the provisions on the calculation of old-age pensions and the conditions for recognition of the right to an old-age pension. The greatest changes were introduced by the currently applicable statute in the field of compulsory pension and disability insurance, namely ZPIZ-2, which tightened the retirement conditions and was, from the start of its validity, the subject of criticisms that, due to lower accrual rates, it caused a fall in pension amounts.
The legislator has a wide margin of discretion in regulating pension and disability insurance and may thus influence the reduction of the gender pension gap. The duty of the State is to attempt to prevent poverty of its residents, to which pensioners are exposed to a greater extent, therefore, it is important that the State has well-organised public social security systems, especially in the field of pension insurance.
In the Republic of Slovenia, pension and disability insurance is based on the pay-as-you-go financing method, and the Slovenian pension system is modelled on the German pension system. The Slovenian pension system, from a historical point of view, is based on the Bismarck model, whose successor is the first pillar of the German pension system. Thus, the provisions on the assessment of old-age pensions in the Slovenian and German legal systems are mutually comparable. |
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