THE RULING Smer party wants to block the second pension pillar, said the opposition MPs who attended a meeting at which the Labour Minister Ján Richter presented the basic principles of a new constitutional law regarding protection of pensions.
“It is a big problem for us,” said MP for the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) Július Brocka, as quoted by the SITA newswire. He added that on September 1, 2012, Smer significantly altered the savings scheme when it decreased the contribution to the second private pension pillar from 9 to 4 percent.
Ivan Švejna from Most-Híd said that every opposition party will now prepare its own proposal to protect the pension system. His party, for example, proposes to discuss the first and second pension pillars separately, SITA wrote.
Richter explained that the constitutional law is only a basic proposal concerning both the first and second pension pillars. He added that the negotiations will continue after all parties prepare their own proposals.
“Let’s hope that finally the opposition parties will also show the responsibility and frank interest in stabilisation of the pension system and the negotiations will end in agreement,” Richter said, as quoted by SITA.
