Pensioners spend their days playing games and chatting in their associations, but the recent decision to file is causing them concern, and they are seeking clear information and justice for the treatment of their pensions.
Erze Surdulli
The chess game is the part that entertains and calms the retirees at their center in the capital. But the rest is a conversation that has recently become a concern for them.
A month ago, the Supreme Court repealed several parts of the administrative instruction on the procedures for notification, suspension of payments and return of funds in cases of misuse of pensions that violated the Law on State-Funded Pension Schemes, following the appeal of E.Sh.
With the Supreme Court's decision, some categories are now exempt from filing, while two others are still required to file, as stipulated in Article 24 of the law. These are pensioners who receive basic old-age pensions and those who receive early pensions.
This decision for pensioner Bajram Maloku has brought uncertainty and concern.
He says he sees it as an unfair decision.
"We usually carry out some obligations at home, we eat breakfast, we come here at noon, we have friends, we play chess, some play with stones and some with cards, we go out to coffee, we drink some tea and coffee, we exchange different opinions. Such a decision is unfair, pensioners have chronic diseases, they are sick and some go abroad for treatment and they were not notified in time," he emphasizes.
He said that once, as he said, due to health reasons, he was unable to report at the appointed time and was left without a pension for 5 months in a row.
"I had a problem, I forgot to report it for 5 months or so, because I wasn't feeling well, when I went to the bank they told me that I didn't have a credit card, when they looked at it for 5 months or so, they didn't give me anything, I filed a complaint but they told me that the complaint was approved but the funds weren't returned," he stated.
And his friend Hajrush Emini says that there are uncertainties and for this reason a regulation should be made to avoid such problems.
"As a pensioner, I wake up early in the morning, go for a walk, come back and sleep again, then at 11-12 o'clock I come here to the pensioners, when my grandchildren and great-grandchildren have homework to help them with the subjects that I myself studied. For pensioners, it's not a problem to not notify them, but to connect with the local communities, without a certificate from the local community, you don't have the right to bury them, the moment you have that certificate at the pensioners' center, you leave the system and the function is terminated", emphasizes Emini.
As long as an elderly person can go out for tea and coffee, he can also be notified that he is alive, says Remzi Robelli, who sees the decision as fair.
"Usually with family, we go out here to the pensioners' club, play chess, drink coffee with friends and so on. There are those categories, the elderly, the disabled and some who cannot go, the rest of us can, why not. I think that yes, those who need it should also go to their homes to visit, not just to release them to be notified," Robelli declares.
The president of the Pensioners' League, Sherif Kastrati, is demanding equal rights. According to him, the presentation of elderly women with basic pensions and the non-presentation of contributing pensioners is unfair.
"They are not included because a category of people in this case, basic and temporary pensioners, is foreseen by law, which obliges them to appear every six months, mainly three months more, meaning it cannot be changed only through the assembly, it can be changed, it is normal that it takes time to make any change. This is a big handicap for pensioners, they cannot appear, they are old people, they can get sick even if they are healthy, they can get sick, there are people with chronic diseases, there are people who cannot move, they need help from relatives, so it is a big obstacle and a big handicap for pensioners to appear at the pension office", he declares.
And the day here concludes with political discussions and hope for non-discriminatory laws.