Easier Path to Old-Age Pension for Deminers
After Croatia became a landmine-free country, 22 deminers can no longer meet the requirement of eight years of demining work, so the law is being amended to secure their pensions.
After Croatia became a landmine-free country, 22 deminers can no longer meet the requirement of eight years of demining work, so the law is being amended to secure their pensions.
Alen Ružić, the minister in charge of labor, pensions, family, and social welfare, presented a draft amendment to the law that would allow a specific category of demining workers to receive an old-age pension regardless of age, provided they have at least 30 years of total service, with at least two years spent on demining tasks.
The current legal framework allows demining workers to receive an old-age pension regardless of age, but only if they have at least 25 years of service, including eight years of actual demining work. Given that demining in Croatia has been completed, some of these workers can no longer fulfill the eight-year requirement by continuing to work in this field.
Minister Ružić also emphasized that the amendment provides these workers with access to an old-age pension and that the proposed solution applies only to a precisely defined group of pyrotechnicians and individuals involved in demining whose employment ended during the past year and this year. This includes 22 pyrotechnicians and individuals who participated in demining.
"Croatia successfully completed the demining process in December 2025, and on March 9 this year, it officially became a landmine-free country. This achieved one of the most important national goals and concluded the process of removing one of the consequences of the Homeland War," said Ružić.
The proposed amendment to the Law is being submitted for adoption under an urgent procedure, and the bill is going to public consultation.
