CCR judge on why cutting pensions is unconstitutional: pension is a past phenomenon

The cut in pensions is unconstitutional because it regards a past phenomenon, bearing in mind that the current retired have already paid their share while they were still employed, Romanian Constitutional Court judge Ion Predescu.

„Pension is a past phenomenon, related to work in the past, which is established differently. You can’t alter it for the future, when it has been previously decided. If the coat has two sleeves, will you only keep one?”. He added that the pensions for 30-35-40 years of work have been generated by the contributions at that time.

In Pradescu’s opinion, the pensioner who has paid for the pension fund for over 30 years, should not be made responsible for the fact that the state authorities failed to managed them correctly.

„Could you oversee the fact that this person has paid the insurance contribution monthly for 30 years? Can you say ‘you haven’t paid and if you have, I don’t care’? (…) If you mismanaged [the money], it’s your business”, he said.