Characteristics and sustainability of the pension system in the Republic of Croatia

Mirovinski je sustav dio sustava socijalnog osiguranja čija je primarna uloga zaštita od rizika starosti, rizika trajne nesposobnosti privređivanja i rizika siromaštva za osiguranika ili njegovu obitelj nakon njegove smrti. Hrvatski je sustav mirovinskog osiguranja posljednjih desetljeća suočen s mnogim poteškoćama u ostvarivanju navedenih funkcija, a razlozi za to leže u brojnim demografskim, gospodarskim i fiskalnim problemima. Iako je provedeno nekoliko reformi sustava mirovinskog osiguranja, uviđaju se određeni čimbenici koji onemogućavaju njegovo nesmetano funkcioniranje. Cilj je rada, induktivnom i deduktivnom metodom, metodom analize i sinteze te metodom klasifikacije i komparacije prikazati strukturu sustava mirovinskog osiguranja Republike Hrvatske i analizirati je li on održiv u dugom roku. Premda se prema projekcijama očekuju daljnja nepovoljna demografska i gospodarska kretanja, troškovi mirovinskog sustava u budućnosti bi se pod utjecajem raznih faktora trebali smanjiti, pa se zaključuje da je sustav mirovinskog osiguranja Republike Hrvatske s fiskalnog aspekta dugoročno održiv.The pension system is a part of the social security system, whose primary role is to protect against the risk of old age, the risk of permanent economic incapacity and the risk of poverty for the insured person or his/hers family after his/hers death. In recent decades, the Croatian pension insurance system has been faced with many difficulties in performing the aforementioned functions, and the reasons for this lie in numerous demographic, economic and fiscal problems. Although several reforms of the pension insurance system have been carried out, there are certain factors that prevent its smooth functioning. The aim of this thesis is to present the structure of the pension insurance system of the Republic of Croatia using the inductive and deductive method, the method of analysis and synthesis, and the method of classification and comparison, and to analyze whether it is sustainable in the long term. Although, according to the projections, further unfavorable demographic and economic trends are expected, the costs of the pension system should decrease in the future under the influence of various factors, so it is concluded that, from the fiscal point of view, the pension insurance system of the Republic of Croatia is sustainable in the long term