Slovenia Insurance Supervision Agency publishes explainer on Slovenia’s pay-as-you-go first pension pillar

The Slovenia Insurance Supervision Agency published an explainer on how Slovenia’s first pension pillar works, focusing on the mandatory pension and disability insurance scheme that remains the main income source for most retirees. It describes the pillar as a pay-as-you-go system based on intergenerational solidarity, where current contributions fund current pension payments rather than being accumulated in individual accounts. The note identifies the Institute for Pension and Disability Insurance of Slovenia (ZPIZ) as the sole institution responsible for administering the scheme and outlines its functions, including maintaining insured-person records, deciding claims, paying pensions and other cash benefits, and handling cross-border coverage under European Union rules and international social security agreements. Funding comes primarily from employee and employer contributions, supplemented by recurring state budget transfers that cover contribution shortfalls and certain systemic obligations. Core entitlements include old-age and early retirement pensions, disability pensions, and survivor and widow pensions, with additional rights including an annual supplement and a care allowance; eligibility conditions are described in terms of age and insurance or pensionable service. The Agency also flags structural pressures from population ageing, a falling ratio of contributors to pensioners, and pressure on public finances, and notes recent reform directions such as gradually increasing retirement age, changing benefit calculation percentages, and encouraging longer working lives. A follow-up article is announced to explain the second pension pillar.