Pensioners in Croatia can work full-time from next year

(Patria) - The new Pension Insurance Act, passed by the Croatian Parliament on Friday, allows pensioners to work full-time while receiving half of their pension.

However, this measure, which is expected to be used by around 8,800 pensioners, will be implemented from January 2026 due to the need to adapt the system.

Croatia currently has 1,230,184 pension beneficiaries, of whom 36,106 by the end of May used the option to work up to half of full-time while retaining their pension.

According to data from the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute (HZMO), 31,028 worked during the same period last year, and pensioners' interest in working is steadily increasing.

The average net pension for May was 644.69 euros, its share in the average net salary for April was 44.8 percent, and data shows that people retire with an average of 31 years of pension service.

Pensioners are most often employed today in wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, where 6,022 are employed.

This is followed by manufacturing, professional, scientific and technical activities, administrative and support service activities, construction, and transport and storage - where 3,152 work.

In accommodation and food service activities, 2,605 work, and in health and social protection, 2,172.

The largest number of employed pensioners are in Zagreb - 10,171, followed by Split-Dalmatia County with 4,005, and Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Istria, and Zagreb counties.

Given the new legal work opportunities, HZMO expects that in 2026, 8,811 pensioners will use the option to work longer than half of full-time after the age of 65 while receiving 50 percent of their pension.

The relevant Ministry of Labour and Social Policy projects that the number of pensioners who will use the option to work while receiving a pension will increase to over 53,000 by 2028.

In addition, it is expected that by 2028, almost 6,000 of them will continue to run their own businesses after reaching the age of 65 while receiving half of their pension.

The provision on full-time work will apply from January 1, 2026, due to the need to adapt HZMO's business processes to ensure the effective implementation of the law, as well as the significant financial effects of the measures, which are estimated at almost two billion euros by the end of the Government's term, according to the Ministry.

At that time, measures related to a 10 percent increase in disability pensions, the abolition of so-called penalties for early retirement beneficiaries who have reached the age of 70, and allowing work of less than 3.5 hours per day for beneficiaries of disability pensions due to complete loss of working capacity will also come into effect, the Ministry added.