The retirement age will be capped by the Constitution at 64 years, while women will retire earlier for raising children. Parliament on Thursday approved a constitutional draft law submitted by SMER-SD with 91 votes. The law will enter into force as of July 1.
All coalition MPs from SMER-SD joined by coalition MPs of the Slovak National Party (SNS) and three Most-Hid MPs were in favour of the draft. The coalition proposal was backed by the opposition right wing extremist People's Party Our Slovakia as well as the We Are Family movement and five Independent MPs. The final vote was postponed several times, as SMER-SD was experiencing difficulties in securing the 90 votes necessary to pass a change in the Constitution. A number of opposition parties harbour the conviction that it will be detrimental to pensioners in the long run. Not even the coalition was fully united on this matter. On the other hand, labour unions and the Confederation of Labour Unions welcome the introduction of retirement age caps.
The draft has been criticised by a number of specialists. The Council for Budget Responsibility (RRZ) based at the Finance Ministry warns against the 10% drop in the average pension in the future as a result of the approved amendment. The Association of Industry Organisations estimated that the limit to the retirement age would cost Slovakia EUR 120 billion in the near future. The current mechanism was passed by the Robert Fico government in 2012. It was set so that the retirement age would be proportional to the average life expectancy.
Following the past draft, the Constitution will also contain a clause defining the minimum wage. "Every employee has the right to a remuneration no lower than the minimum wage," states the draft, adding that details regarding a legislative change in the minimum wage will be defined by law.
