The debate on magistrates’ pensions has received heated reactions from society, dissatisfied with the difficulties with which the reforms are applied. The project provides that the magistrates’ pension will be 70 percent of the last net salary, and the transition to the new retirement age will be 15 years.
The working conditions of the magistrates have also improved in recent years. Photo: Daniel Guță
The negotiations on the magistrates’ pensions have sparked numerous reactions on social networks. On the political level, the subject was intensely debated, without the Government and the representatives of the magistrates reaching a compromise.
The project regarding the reform of magistrates’ pensions
The ruling coalition has decided that the magistrates’ pension will be 70 percent of the last net salary, and the transition period to the retirement age of 65 will be phased in over 15 years, compared to 10 years in the previous draft.
The Ministry of Labor has published the bill amending the pensions of magistrates. It shows that the service pension will be 55 percent of the calculation base, representing the average of the gross allowances and increments of the last 60 months, but it cannot exceed 70 percent of the last net allowance.
Judges, prosecutors, assistant magistrates and legal specialist staff with at least 35 years of total seniority, of which at least 25 in specialized positions, can retire at the standard age with the service pension. If they do not have the required 25 years, the pension is reduced by 2 percent for each missing year. Those with 35 years of service can retire earlier, with the same reduction of 2 percent for each year until the standard age, the pension being recalculated annually.
The initiators of the project show that the amendment of the legislation is a condition for Romania to receive the third tranche of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). The statement of reasons shows the not only necessary, but also urgent nature of these measures and it is announced that the Bologna Government will assume responsibility in Parliament for the proposed fiscal measures.
Magistrates argue that the pension should be even closer to the salary level.
What ordinary Romanians say
The long-running debate over magistrates’ pensions and when the retirement age will rise has sparked many reactions. Many Romanians expressed their dissatisfaction with the difficulties encountered in applying the reforms.
“Pensions should be strictly contributory. You have a high salary, you contribute a lot, the result is a large pension. The rest is just the politician who buys favors”, writes a user of the online platform Reddit.
Magistrates are in a privileged position, because they can block any law that affects them, believes someone else, who compares magistrates with the rest of Romanians.
“They are not like us commoners, who have to swallow whatever is served to us. But, in the end, at least they work three times more than the rest of Europe, according to Nicușor Dan”he adds.
Another Romanian says that the workload of magistrates is indeed high, according to statistics from the European Union.
“We live in a country where the workload of magistrates is much higher than in other EU states, and all the little things end up in court. Is it normal for a single judge to have thousands of cases a year? If the volume were like in other European countries, yes, the retirement age should be increased, but the percentage of 70 percent of the last salary should be maintained.” he states.
Another Romanian believes that a solution could be to increase the number of posts in the judiciary and not their incomes.
Someone else believes that Justice represents an institution that should enjoy fewer privileges, and part of the funds allocated to it should be used for development.
“Through an exercise of imagination, I can almost understand the magistrates as well. Consider that we are colleagues, I am now retiring with 5,000 euros net at the age of 48. Next year it is your turn and you are told that it is not possible: you have to work another 15 years and you will retire with half of what I have. And no one can take away my right once acquired. It is normal that people do not agree either to cut off their privileges themselves, nor to see that others have caught them too”, is the opinion of another Romanian.
