
The Albanian government has approved a draft law that aims to recognize periods of employment in state institutions, former state enterprises, former agricultural enterprises and former agricultural cooperatives for the calculation of pensions in the social security system.
Now, all years of work before 1993 will be recognized by citizens even if they are not documented in state registers. There are 29,500 citizens who are expected to benefit from this government decision, whose years of work will now be recognized even if they are not documented.
What does the draft law provide?
The draft law defines several main categories:
Employment in state institutions and former state enterprises: Periods of employment from the age of 18 until the entry into force of the social security law in 1993 will be recognized as insurance years.
Employment in former agricultural cooperatives: Periods of employment from the age of 18 until the entry into force of the land law in 1991 are recognized.
Employment in former agricultural enterprises: Periods of employment until the entry into force of the decision on the restructuring of agricultural enterprises in 1992 are recognized.
Procedures and criteria
The recognition of these periods will be made according to the applicant's declaration, provided that:
-The applicant must have resided in the city or village during the declared period.
-Not have served a prison sentence during the relevant period.
The draft law also includes provisions for the reassessment of existing pensions in cases where beneficiaries declare other work periods.
Citizens who are already reaching retirement age, but whose years of work before 1993 are not yet proven, will have their insurance periods recognized without procedural obstacles. According to the Ministry of Economy, this step avoids citizens having to go to the courts to have their years recognized.
These changes will benefit 7,500 people who worked in former agricultural cooperatives and 22,000 people who worked in former agricultural enterprises and state-owned enterprises. The ministry says that the budget cost is 40 million lek for the first year of the law's entry into force alone.