Zagreb, 29 June 2025 (Hina/MIA) - Croatia's new Pension Insurance Act, passed by parliament Friday, will allow retirees to work full-time while receiving 50% of their pension. The measure, expected to be taken up by around 8,800 retirees, will come into effect in January 2026 to allow time for system adjustments.

Currently, there are 1,230,184 pension recipients in Croatia. By the end of May, 36,106 of them were working up to half of full-time hours while continuing to receive their pension.

According to the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute, 31,028 pensioners were employed in the same way during the same period last year. The number of retirees interested in remaining in the workforce continues to grow steadily.

The average net pension for May was €644.69, which amounts to 44.8% of the average net wage for April. On average, retirees leave the workforce after 31 years of pensionable service.

Retirees are most commonly employed in wholesale and retail trade and in the repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, with 6,022 employed in these sectors.

They are followed by manufacturing, professional, scientific and technical services, administrative and support services, construction, and transport and storage – employing 3,152 retirees in total.

The tourism and hospitality sector employs 2,605 retirees, while health and social care employ 2,172.

The highest number of employed pensioners is in Zagreb (10,171), followed by Split-Dalmatia County (4,005), and then the counties of Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Istria, and Zagreb.

There are 23,349 men and 12,757 women among employed retirees.

Given the newly introduced legal options, the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute projects that in 2026, around 8,811 retirees over 65 will work more than half of full-time hours while receiving 50% of their pension.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy projects that by 2028, more than 53,000 retirees will be working while drawing a pension.

It is also expected that by 2028, nearly 6,000 retirees will continue running a trade or craft business after the age of 65 while receiving half of their pension.

The provision allowing full-time employment will take effect on Jan. 1, 2026, due to the need to adapt the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute’s operational systems to ensure effective implementation.