Government approves Reforming Strategy of retirement system in agricultural field

Contributions of social insurances for farmers will be calculated out of the obtained income not resulted from the amount of property. This fact is stipulated by the Reforming Strategy of the retirement system in the agricultural field, approved at a recent meeting of the Cabinet Council. According to the strategy, the land owners employed on the basis of individual contracts by agricultural enterprises will pay the contributions of social insurances depending on the wage fund and not on the basis of MDL 1.7 per degree/hectare. This index was already settled at 23% (20% employer and 3% employee). At the same time, the document stipulates that for the owners of agricultural lands who process by themselves the lands and for renters is proposed to collect a fixed month tax in order to benefit from a preset quantum of allowance and indemnity in case of death. According to the deputy minister of Health and Social Protection, Victor Mandru, some stipulations of the present strategy were already included in the Law of Social State Insurances for 2006. The landowners who are individually farming their lands and renters must pay a contribution of MDL 480 annually in order to have a minimum retirement allowance. For the persons willing to obtain an increased fixed pension, the possibility of paying a higher fixed contribution, which will be settled later, is stipulated. For the persons employed in agricultural associations, having an individual work contract, the system of partial budgetary subvention was implemented in 2006, which means that the state pays a part of employer’s contribution to the Social Insurances Budget (SIB) in case “employers do not pay contributions to the wage fund”. According to the Law on state social insurances budget for 2006, this subvention amounts to 4% of the 20% tariff. The Reformation Strategy of the retirement system in the agricultural system is expanding over all persons working in this field, regardless of the fact if they are individual farmers, are paid or are members of a farmer’s family and help taking care of the land and they are not paid. The provisions of the strategy were discussed with local public authorities, representatives of the associations of farmers and fields’ trade unions. The document will be sent for examination to the Parliament.