The Ministry of Labor responded exclusively to the request sent by PS News under Law 544/2001 on access to information of public interest, regarding the reform of special pensions for magistrates recently announced by Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan.
According to official data, the annual budgetary impact of pensions for magistrates will amount to over 1.7 billion lei in 2025. Of this amount, 1.48 billion lei will be covered directly by the state budget, and nearly 230 million lei will come from the State Social Insurance Budget (BASS).
Reform – between deficit and NRRP obligations
The Ministry of Labor did not present concrete figures regarding the estimated savings from the reform, but emphasized that Romania is in a difficult economic situation, with a high budget deficit and growing public debt, exacerbated by pension and wage expenditures. In 2024 alone, the cost of interest on public debt exceeded €8 billion, officials point out.
The government also cites the risk of losing €213 million from Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) if the agreed milestones, including the reform of special pensions, are not met. Therefore, the reduction in spending on magistrates’ service pensions is presented as part of a broader package of fiscal consolidation measures.
Principles invoked: fairness and contribution
The Ministry says the reform aims to hit the targets in the NRRP and to ‘reorganise the occupational pension system’ by moving closer to the principle of contribution and fairness for all pensioners funded by public money.
The Government also invokes the need to ensure the financial sustainability of the pension system in the context of an ageing population and to correct inequalities between different categories of beneficiaries.
When will the reform come into force?
According to the official response, if the bill passes constitutional review, implementation will begin on 1 January 2026. The legislative initiative is being developed jointly by the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Justice, which means that both institutions will have a decisive say in the final form of the reform.
⸻
Full response sent by the Ministry of Labour to PS News
- What is the estimated annual budgetary impact of service pensions for magistrates at present (2025)?
“Based on the eight months, we estimate the budgetary impact for 2025 in the case of magistrates’ service pensions (Law No. 303/2004 on the status of prosecutors and judges) to be 1,717,906,957 lei, of which 1,488,059,768 lei is covered by the State Budget (SB) and 229,847,189 lei is covered by the State Social Insurance Budget (SSIB).”
- What are the estimated savings for the state budget as a result of this reform?
“Romania is currently in a difficult economic situation, as confirmed by the European Commission. According to the National Bank of Romania, the sole cause of the aforementioned budget imbalance is the sharp increase in budget expenditure as a percentage of GDP (from 40.6 to 43.5%), which is partly due to pension and wage costs. The need to finance this budgetary imbalance has led to a significant increase in the Romanian state’s expenditure on interest on public debt, which will reach an absolute value of over €8 billion in 2024 alone.
Thus, in the absence of urgent measures, the increased level of public expenditure will lead to a continuous increase in government debt and related costs, such as interest.
Given this context, which also involves the obligations assumed under the regulatory framework for the implementation of the NRRP, the risk of losing 213 million euro, and the difficult economic situation evidenced by a high budget deficit and significant public debt, the Romanian Government and Parliament have an obligation to take swift action to limit public spending, which will be transposed into a series of successive legislative acts. This series includes the magistrates’ pension reform, aimed at reducing pension expenditure in the future, as part of a limited series of spending cuts.”
- What are the technical, legislative, and constitutional principles taken into account in drafting this reform?
„The Romanian government intends to regulate the legal regime for occupational pensions, a first step in this process being occupational pensions in the justice system.
The measure aims both to meet the NRRP milestone and to reorganize the occupational pension system in terms of bringing it closer to the principle of contributory pensions and, at the same time, respecting the principle of fairness among all beneficiaries of pensions paid from public funds.
The reform of the pension system aims to ensure the financial sustainability and predictability of the pension system in the context of an aging population, but also to correct inequalities.”
- What is the estimated timetable for the adoption and implementation of the measures announced by Prime Minister Bolojan?
„According to the draft legislation, if it passes constitutional review, its implementation will begin on January 1, 2026.”
The law on magistrates’ pensions challenged in the Constitutional Court by the High Court of Cassation and Justice
On Thursday, the judges of the High Court of Cassation and Justice (ICCJ) decided to refer to the Constitutional Court the unconstitutionality of the law amending the special pension system for judges and prosecutors, for which the Bolojan Government assumed responsibility in Parliament. The High Court accuses, among other things, that “the importance of the service pension has once again been ignored economically in the principle of judicial independence.” The institution headed by Lia Savonea also accuses that the law violates 37 binding decisions of the Constitutional Court and “numerous fundamental principles of the rule of law.”
The Bolojan government’s law, which has sparked protests in courts and prosecutors’ offices, with workers suspending their activities, stipulates that magistrates’ pensions cannot exceed 70% of their last net salary, compared to 80% of their last gross salary, as is currently the case.
Another change is that in order to retire, magistrates will have to have 35 years of service, whereas now they can retire after 25 years.
The retirement age would gradually increase to 65.
“The independence of the judiciary cannot be negotiated”
In a press release issued approximately three hours after this decision, the ICCJ stated that, through their vote, “the judges of the High Court are sending a resounding NO to any attempt to weaken the independence of the judiciary and the constitutional status of the magistracy.”
The independence of the judiciary cannot be negotiated or relativized by circumstantial arguments. It is a fundamental condition of democracy and the rule of law. The law violates no less than 37 binding decisions of the Constitutional Court and numerous fundamental principles of the rule of law,” the High Court of Cassation and Justice said in the press release.
In the opinion of the ICCJ, the main reasons for unconstitutionality concern: violation of the principle of the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary, legal certainty, the legality and non-retroactivity of the law, legitimate expectations, the creation of discrimination without rational and objective justification, disregard for certain mandatory legal obligations, such as the requirement to obtain the mandatory opinion of the Superior Council of Magistracy on the final form of the law, disregard for the substantive constitutional provisions relating to the conditions under which the government may assume responsibility, as well as numerous binding decisions of the Constitutional Court and the rules of legislative technique.
“The High Court reaffirms, with one voice, that the constitutional status of judges, and of the judiciary in general, is not a privilege, but an essential guarantee of the rule of law and democracy, which cannot be disregarded,” adds the ICCJ.
Autor
Urmărește știrile PSNews.ro și pe Google News
