M.Šiurkus: residents support the termination of pension accumulation due to illness, housing problems Business

After the Constitutional Court (CT) announced at the beginning of March that it should be possible for people to terminate the pension accumulation contract for important reasons, the ministry conducted a survey on its website to find out.

“Resident survey data show that 93 percent those who spoke agree that serious illnesses, conditions or equally severe disabilities, which can also be found in the child, should be considered important reasons,” M. Šiurkus told LRT radio on Wednesday.

“Also, a considerable part says that these might be circumstances when the risk of losing the only home is faced,” he added.

According to M.Šiurkaus, regarding 60 percent of those interviewed agree that the accumulation of pensions might also be stopped for short-term workers from abroad.

According to the Deputy Minister of Social Security and Labour, 3,000 people participated in the survey that took place over two weeks. population.

According to M. Šiurkaus, the ministry discussed with economists a few days ago the specific circumstances that would allow the pension accumulation to be stopped, and on Wednesday it will be discussed with representatives of the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Lithuania, the Association of Pension Fund Participants, employers and trade unions.

The head of the Lithuanian Investment and Pension Fund Association (LIPFA), Tadas Gudaitis, does not agree that pension accumulation can be stopped due to housing problems.

“The reasons for withdrawing from pension accumulation must be very important when accumulation becomes pointless. (…) In our opinion, a pension without a goal is when that goal no longer exists – when you know that you will not get it. The absolute majority of those who have housing of one kind or another receive a pension,” T. Gudaitis told LRT radio.

“We don’t think this is really the place to deal with people’s retirement savings,” he added.

T. Gudaitis emphasized that it is necessary to agree that the list of important reasons should be exhaustive.

Trade unions propose to abandon the second stage altogether

Inga Ruginienė, the president of the Confederation of Lithuanian Trade Unions, proposes to abolish the accumulation of pensions in the second tier.

According to her, the search for important reasons to stop accumulating pensions can “open Pandora’s box”, when their list can be constantly filled depending on the political situation.

“This will basically cause legal disputes and even greater despair for those who want to leave the system under special conditions,” I. Ruginienė told LRT radio on Wednesday.

“In order not to get confused, not to be trampled in this joval, our proposal is to abandon the second stage altogether and concentrate on the third. If it is repaired normally, it might really live well and raise confidence for additional accumulation”, said the representative of the trade unions.

Economist Romas Lazutka believes that people should be allowed to decide for themselves when to stop accumulating pensions.

“Each of those options will certainly be disputed and it will be possible to appeal to the Constitutional Court once more for each of them, that one or another reason on that list is once morest the Constitution. My proposal is simply to let people decide for themselves when those conditions are important to them”, said R. Lazutka to LRT radio.

KT announced at the beginning of March that the Pension Accumulation Law does not provide for the possibility for people to terminate the pension accumulation contract for important reasons, which is contrary to the Constitution. As such, the court points to the fundamentally changed circumstances of a person’s life, which makes it extremely difficult to save for retirement.

According to the CT, the law must also determine other cases of ending the accumulation of old-age pensions in special pension funds, as well as the case when the accumulation of pensions is terminated at the initiative of the participant, when there are important reasons.