Addressing the open meeting with local retirees, PM Rama announced that government has prepared another aggressive plan to “curb pension theft by entrepreneurs, but also by workers, who agree to accept to receive cash.”

Speaking about a new pension scheme reform, the government head underlined that the number of contributors to the social and health insurances scheme has increased by 300 000, yet combating the wage underreporting practice remains a challenge.

Rama described the evasion of social contributions as “theft,” stating the government’s commitment to enforcing payment obligations that fund the nation’s pension system.

“We have prepared another very aggressive plan to crackdown on the theft of pensions by entrepreneurs, as well as by workers who agree to receive cash, causing a double damage,” he announced.

The government head pledged stricter enforcement against this theft in a bid to increase revenue from the social insurance contributions and to also significantly increase pensions.

“We face a serious issue: avoiding social contributions robs pensioners of a fair income,” Rama said. “We will go after companies failing to meet these obligations, just as we pursued those who neglected their energy bills.”

Albania’s pension system relies on contributions from employees and employers, and gaps in these payments have created shortfalls.

Rama also noted that the current social insurance contribution scheme is short of 500 million euros due to the widespread wage underreporting practice.

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