VIDOVIC: PROBLEM OF BH PENSION ALLOWANCES TO BE SOLVED SOON

ZAGREB, Oct 24 (Hina) - The Labour and Welfare Ministry will next week send the government a bill on pensions earned by Croatian citizens in Bosnia-Herzegovina. This way the Croatian state helps its citizens not to be left without income given that their pensions, which are low, are paid by three different BH pension funds with major delays, said Labour Minister Davorko Vidovic. Until May this year, Croatia paid pension allowances earned in Bosnia-Herzegovina in full. According to the new law, all BH pensioners would receive monthly allowances, probably in the amount of an average pension in Croatia. BH pensioners would prove the right to receive those allowances by presenting their BH pension slip to authorised institutions in Croatia. These allowances should also depend on the years of service of every pensioner. There are three systems of pension insurance in Bosnia- Herzegovina, based in Sarajevo, Mostar and Bijeljina, and they all calculate and pay allowances independently. The Bosnian Serb entity is yet to pay pensions for May and June this year, which, according to Vidovic, should be done in the next several days. However, if Republika Srpska continues not to fulfil its obligations toward pensioners from its territory, Croatia will take over the payment of pension allowances in full, he said. (hina) rml