According to figures from the Pension Insurance Agency, the overall debt to pensioners amounts to 11.5 billion kuna plus about 2.3 billion kuna in interest.
Under the agreement, 423,034 persons are entitled to indemnification. Pensioners will have their money back through a Pensioners' Fund, which will receive funds rather than securities, shares or real estate as has been mentioned earlier.
Pensioners will be able to claim their money back in two ways -- over a period of two years, in which case they will receive 50 per cent of the sum claimed, or over a period of eight years, in which case they will be paid back the entire amount.
Deputy Prime Minister Damir Polancec said that the coalition partners would continue consultations and announced that a bill on establishing a Pensioners' Fund could be before Parliament already next week.
Polancec said that some of the money intended for the Fund would be raised through privatisation of major state-owned companies such as the T-HT telecommunications company, the INA oil company and the Croatia Osiguranje insurance company.
"This is an important day because what many did not believe would happen has become a reality," HSU leader Vladimir Jordan said.