The calculation of pensions is complex and unclear, warns the annual report of the activities of the Ombudsman Maria Lucia Amaral, a document that she handed over on Friday to the President of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco.
Last year, the Ombudsman’s Office received more than 10,600 complaints, resulting in almost 2,900 complaints being processed, mostly concerning social security issues. Pensions, contributions, debts or family benefits were the topics with the most open cases.
In its chapter on social security, the report charges that there is “ambiguity” in the way pension calculations are reported, as it does not allow “the ordinary recipient to understand what assumptions are taken into account and how these themselves have affected the value of the reform that will be paid for.
Regarding the pension bonus for those working on contributions in the public service and the private sector, the report says it was calculated in a way that was detrimental to beneficiaries. The issue is the lack of convergence between the general social security regime and the Caixa Geral de Aposentações regime.
Although the pension awarding body calculates the bonus taking into account the entire career of the insurers, i.e. the career of both schemes, it applies the bonus rate only to its part of the pension.
This situation arises because “there is no communication between the two structures on this issue,” the ombudsman accuses.
Author: Joao Maltes This Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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