Professional paper
https://doi.org/10.3935/rsp.v7i3.243
A Definition of Disability and its Development in the Croatian Pension Insurance Scheme
Mihovil Rismondo
; Hrvatski zavod za mirovinsko osiguranje
Abstract
The author analyses the definitions of disability which have been used in the Croatian pension insurance system since the time following the First World War. In the socialist period, disability was determined in relation to the ability (or inability) of performing jobs at which the insured person had worked immediately prior to the assessment of his or her working ability. Later, the determination of disability through contraindications (medical) regarding the ability to perform certain jobs became widespread, which resulted in a significant growth in the number of disabled workers, particularly in recent years. The second part of this study is devoted to the new definition of disability in Croatia, which has been implemented since1 st January 1999 as part of the reformed pension scheme. Now, disability is defined as the permanent loss of working ability (general disability), or as a permanent inability to perform a profession (professional working disability). In this way, the content of the definition of disability in the Croatian pension insurance system has been adapted to the definitions of disability in Austria, Germany and other Western European countries, as well as to the definitions of disability in the documents of the International Labour Organisation and the Council of Europe. In this context, the author also deals with the practical application of the definition of disability since 1999. His assessment is that the new definition of disability has contributed to slowing down the growth of the number of users of disability pensions in Croatia, which was one of the goals of the pension insurance reform.
Keywords
disability; working ability; general working disability and professional working disability
Hrčak ID:
30027
URI
Publication date:
1.3.2000.
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