The agency director, Mile Rukavina, said that the ratio of insurance contributors to pension holders was 1.39 to one in September last year compared to 1.42 to one this September.
"As far as the pension system is concerned, this is the most stable proof that the Croatian economy is steadily growing," Rukavina told parliament while presenting the 2005 report.
According to figures from the report, at the end of 2005, slightly less than 1.5 million employed Croatians ensured pensions for 1.08 million pension holders.
The average pension pay-out in 2005 was 1,848 kuna, accounting for 41.42 percent of the average monthly salary paid in Croatia.
In 2005, a total of 27.3 billion kuna was allocated for pensions. Of this amount, 15.7 billion was collected as contributions and 11.4 billion was paid as pensions according to specific rules.
The number of new pension holders rose by 16 percent to 47,050 in 2005 from the previous year.
The total revenues of the HZMO agency came to 27.2 billion kuna, rising by 4.6 percent from 2004. About 58 percent of revenues were paid contributions, and 42 percent was ensured through the government budgetary means.
The report also notes a disparity between the so called old pensioners and new pensioners, i.e. a great difference in pensions paid to those who retired before 1999 ('old pensioners') and after.
During the discussion, Dragutin Lesar of the Croatian People's Party (HNS) warned that if this disparity continues, those who will retire in 2009 will receive a mere 980 kuna at average as a monthly pension.
Therefore, deputies warn that the pension reform in 1999 was a failure.
"The pension system is turning into a system for recipients of social welfare," said Dragutin Pukles of the Croatian Pensioners' Party (HSU), adding that the present system was becoming less stable failing to recognise the value of paid contributions.
(1 EUR = 7.4 kuna)