The Supreme Court has struck down parts of an administrative instruction that required pensioners to periodically appear to prove they are alive, exempting certain categories from this obligation.
"Article 4, paragraph 2, of Administrative Instruction No. 05/2015 (MLSW) on Notification Procedures, Suspension from Payment and Return of Funds in Cases of Pension Abuse has been declared illegal and repealed. Article 5, paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this Instruction have been declared illegal and repealed," the Supreme Court announced.
But, despite this Supreme Court decision, there has been confusion in public opinion about who is required to appear and who is not.
In connection with this confusion, the Ministry of Finance on Monday, January 19, issued a clarification indicating that pensioners in the contributory, partial contributory, and family categories do not need to appear at pension offices.
Meanwhile, pensioners of other categories continue to have an obligation to report according to the legislation in force.
Otherwise, according to the Supreme Court's decision, the two categories that must be presented as provided for in Article 24 of the law are pensioners who receive basic age pensions and those who receive early pensions.
"Beneficiaries of the basic old-age pension and beneficiaries of early pensions must appear at the offices designated by the Ministry once every six months with the relevant identification documents," states Article 24 of the law.
According to social welfare statistics for October 2025, published by the Kosovo Agency of Statistics, 164 thousand citizens receive a basic pension at the national level. While the categories that are exempted, according to these data, include about 70 thousand.
The basic pension in Kosovo is 150 euros. /Telegrafi/
