The representatives of the Ministry of Labor and Insurance Companies have found a swift solution during Friday’s meeting to address the issue faced by pension applicants who are simultaneously accumulating health insurance debt. The double trouble is expected to end within the week.
The Czech Social Security Administration (ČSSZ), Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, and health insurance companies reached an agreement during their joint meeting. According to the agreement, the ČSSZ will provide the necessary data of pension applicants to the central registry of insured persons so that the relevant information is available to health insurance companies. As a result, this group of individuals will no longer be required to pay insurance premiums, effectively eliminating their debt.
The ČSSZ is expected to transfer all the necessary data to the central registry of insured persons during the following week. Concurrently, efforts will continue to develop a systemic solution for the future, according to Jakub Augusta, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs spokesperson. Pension applicants’ debt owed to insurance companies should be practically erased within the coming week.
The problem arose due to the inability of social security administration officials to process the administrative tasks within the legal deadlines. As stated by František Boháček, the CEO of ČSSZ, approximately 18,000 pension requests are delayed, with the majority being early retirement cases.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) and Minister of Labor Marian Jurečka (KDU-ČSL) have already apologized to the individuals awaiting their pension payments. Fiala acknowledged the lengthy waiting times and expressed his understanding of the inconvenience caused.
Jurečka, in the Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday, admitted a portion of political responsibility and apologized to those facing complications. He further explained that the situation, with the convergence of regular and extraordinary pension valorizations and a significant increase in requests for early retirement and parental benefits, is unprecedented in scale and historical context.