The PM told Dragutin Lesar of the Croatian People's Party (HNS) during Question Time in parliament that the Government was aware of the problem, namely differences in pensions of those who retired before (old pensioners) and after 1998 (new pensioners), adding that all efforts were aimed at finding a solution.
"We cannot give false hopes at this moment. We will try to solve this problem together," Sanader said.
The PM said the Government had proposed to pensioners' associations and trade union to form a working group for new pension reform.
At this moment, the Government cannot pay 11 billion kuna, namely the difference between the paid pension insurance contributions and paid pensions, he said.
"This is a big problem which the Government cannot solve on its own," the PM said adding that joint efforts were required. He said that the only way out of this problem was the fight against informal economy and the strengthening of the economy. "Unless the economy grows stronger, there will be no salaries, let alone pensions," the PM said.
Lesar said that the difference in pensions of those who retired in 1998 and those who retired in 2000 was 17.3 percent, adding that the difference between early retirement pensions and average pensions amounted to as much as 40 percent.