- by croatiaweek
- September 28, 2026
- in
Foreign workers from third countries are making an increasingly significant contribution to Croatia’s pension system, with their payments into the first pillar estimated at more than €250 million a year.
However, many of those workers may never qualify for a Croatian pension based on their contributions, according to data and information provided by the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute (HZMO) and the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy, Faktograph.hr reported.
At the end of July 2026, 155,265 insured people classified as citizens of third countries were recorded in Croatia’s pension system. Based on the country of passport issuance, this represented roughly one in every 11 people paying into the pension fund.
The figure has increased by more than 27% since the end of 2025, when 121,681 such insured people were recorded.
HZMO cautions that it does not officially record the citizenship of insured people. The figures are based on an internal analysis using the country of issuance of a person’s travel document, which does not necessarily correspond to their citizenship. The category also includes Ukrainians working in Croatia under temporary protection.
Based on current figures, workers from third countries contribute at least €250.4 million annually to Croatia’s first-pillar pension system if they are assumed to earn the current minimum gross salary of €1,050. With an assumed gross salary of €1,500, annual pension contributions from this group would amount to around €560 million.
The issue is what happens to those contributions over the longer term.
In Croatia, foreign workers face the same basic conditions as Croatian citizens for an old-age pension: at least 15 years of pensionable service and reaching the age of 65.
For many workers who come to Croatia for a limited period, accumulating 15 years of service may be difficult. Their ability to receive a pension or a proportional part of one can also depend on whether Croatia has a social security agreement with their home country.
Croatia currently has 10 international social security agreements covering countries including Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Canada, North Macedonia, Türkiye, South Korea, Albania and Serbia. Separate EU rules apply to citizens of EU and EEA countries and Switzerland.
Croatia and Kosovo have signed a social security agreement, but it has not yet entered into force. Croatia is also negotiating an agreement with the Philippines, whose citizens are among the largest groups of foreign workers in Croatia.
The government has also initiated procedures for agreements with Argentina, Chile, Moldova, Kosovo and Ukraine.
For workers from countries such as Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Egypt and Uzbekistan, however, no comparable agreement is currently in place or close to completion according to the information provided by the ministry.
As Croatia continues to rely on foreign workers to fill labour shortages, the question of how their pension contributions will translate into future rights is becoming increasingly important for both workers and the country’s pension system.