The number of pensioners formerly employed by the Interior and Defence Ministries, along with those from the special services (Romanian Intelligence Service, Foreign Intelligence Service, Guard and Protection Service, Special Telecommunications Service), currently stands at more than 138,175, according to data supplied by the two ministries to ZIARUL FINANCIAR. SRI did not provide such information.
Altogether, these pensioners will collect pensions worth almost one billion euros next year, according to the same data, also verified by the provisions of the 2008 draft budget, which was approved by the Government.
The employees of the Interior and Defence Ministries and the special services did not contribute towards their state-awarded pensions throughout their employment, yet, at present, they receive pensions four times higher than those collected by pensioners in the public system.
According to data supplied by the two ministries to ZF, the 61,307 pensioners formerly employed by the Interior Ministry collect an average pension of 430 euros (1,440 RON). At the same time, 76,868 pensioners from the Defence Ministry now receive an average pension worth 446 euros (1,493 RON). In comparison, the average public pension is worth 118 euros (395 RON), which is four times less.
Overall, the pensions of former employees of the special services will cost the public budget 990 million euros, with 534 million euros allocated to Defence, 406 million euros to Interior and 50 million euros to the SRI. The funds allocated for officers' pensions in 2008 are 16% higher against this year's level, and 70% higher against the level in the public budget in 2006.
Information concerning the number of pensions in the military and special structures does not usually appear in official statistics. Mihai Seitan, former chairman of the National Pension and Social Security Office (CNPAS) says the number of pensioners in the parallel pension systems could actually be higher
"In my opinion, the number of pensioners in the parallel systems (which includes Defence, Interior and special services) is in excess of 200,000," Mihai Seitan told ZF. Seitan is now the partnership manager of private pension broker FinCoP, after working in pensions for the Labour Ministry for ten years.
The pensioners of the special structures do not receive their pensions from the public pension budget, to which they did not contribute during their employment, but through allocations from the public budget, to the ministries in question.
According to Law 164/2001 on the military pension, only the Interior and Defence Ministries and the Romanian Intelligence Service get budgetary allocations for the pensions of their former special structure employees.
As for the remainder, such as the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Guard and Protection Service and the Special Telecommunications Service, they do not receive special allocations for the pensions of their former employees.
Instead, their retired employees receive their pensions from the budgetary allocations of the Interior and Defence Ministries, representatives of the three special services told ZF.
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