Ensuring the pension rights of informal caregivers was the focus of a meeting held on Tuesday between a delegation from the Federation of Cyprus Patients’ Associations (OSAK) held on Tuesday with the Minister of Labor and Social Insurance, Marinos Mousiouttas.
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According to a statement from OSAC, the two sides agreed to remain in ongoing consultation until the completion of the process of formulating the relevant legislative framework, in order to further examine OSAC’s recommendations and the possibilities for incorporating them into the pension reform.
The press release states that OSAC highlighted the need for the State, within the framework of pension reform, the State must actively recognize the role and valuable contribution of informal caregivers, who are forced to remain out of the workforce or limit their professional activities in order to provide care to their loved ones. To this end, the need to establish appropriate regulations that safeguard their pension rights was emphasized, so that their long-term absence or limited participation in the labor market does not lead to pension insecurity.
At the same time, it is noted that special attention was given to individuals with chronic illnesses and disabilities who, due to their illness or disability, are unable to work or are unable to participate fully and continuously in the labor market, and that OSAC emphasized the need “to ensure that these individuals are not placed at a disadvantage with regard to their future retirement, due to their objective inability to work and meet the required social security eligibility criteria.”
It is also noted that OSAC raised the issues of lifting the existing 24-month maximum unemployment period required for someone to become eligible to apply for a disability pension, as well as as well as the need to implement retraining policies and to relaunch the Incentive Program for the Hiring of People with Chronic Illnesses, with the goal of integrating more people into suitable or newforms of employment.
In conclusion, OSAC affirms that it will continue to participate actively and constructively in the dialogue, with the goal of ensuring that the final reform includes substantive social safeguards and adequately protects the pension rights of informal caregivers and people with disabilities.
SOURCE: KYPE
