Pension and Disability Insurance Changes

The Assembly of Montenegro has adopted the

Law on Amendments to the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance

(“Official Gazette of Montenegro”, No. 011/25 of 10.02.2025).

In the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance (“Official Gazette of RCG”, No. 54/03, 39/04, 61/04, 79/04, 14/07, and 47/07 and “Official Gazette of Montenegro”, No. 79/08, 14/10, 78/10, 34/11, 40/11, 66/12, 38/13, 61/13, 60/14, 10/15, 44/15, 42/16, 55/16, 80/20, 145/21, 86/22, 99/23, 125/23, and 77/24), the following changes have been made:

New Article:

“Article 29a

A policyholder who has acquired the right to a proportional pension under an international agreement, residing in the territory of Montenegro, is entitled to an amount equal to the difference to the lowest pension amount if the sum of their pension determined under this law and the foreign pension calculated according to the applicable exchange rate on the day of submission of the request for payment of the difference is less than the lowest pension amount determined under Article 29 of this law.

The payment of the difference from paragraph 1 of this article will be made from the first day of the following month after the submission of the request.”

This new article stipulates the payment of the difference to the lowest pension amount for users of proportional pensions if the total amount of the proportional pension and the foreign pension is lower than the amount of the lowest pension determined under Article 29.

In Article 67, the following amendment has been made:

The contribution for extended insurance is paid by policyholders under Article 66, paragraph 1 of this law at a rate of 10% (previously: 20.5%) on the base consisting of the salary, or the insurance base earned in the last month preceding the month of cessation of mandatory insurance.
The base from paragraph 1 of this article may not be lower than the lowest monthly base for contributions in accordance with the law regulating contributions for mandatory social insurance. The manner of adjusting the bases from paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article, as well as the deadlines and manner of payment of contributions for extended insurance, is prescribed by the Fund.

For clarification of this article, attached to Article 66, paragraph 1, for a better understanding of which policyholders this change applies to:

Article 66, paragraph 1

The person whose mandatory insurance has ceased is credited with the time for which the contribution was paid after the cessation of mandatory insurance (extended insurance) for the following periods:

1. Professional training or specialization;

2. Temporary unemployment, if the person is registered with the Employment Agency, provided they registered within the legally prescribed period, for up to five years for each case of insurance interruption;

3. Residence abroad as the spouse of the policyholder, or life partner of the policyholder who entered into a life partnership with a person of the same sex in accordance with the law regulating life partnerships of same-sex persons, or common-law spouse in accordance with the law regulating family relations, who is employed abroad by our employer or based on an international agreement;

4. Care for a child up to the age of 15 years, or older if they require continuous care and assistance due to complete and permanent disability, but no longer than five years for each case of insurance interruption;

5. For which the employee uses unpaid leave in accordance with labor regulations.

This law shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the “Official Gazette of Montenegro.”