The incapacity pension reform planned brings two main positives. Firstly, is heralds enhanced assistance to those not totally capable, yet desiring to work, in their attempts to re-enter labour market. And secondly: capacity or incapacity to work will no longer be determined by documents alone: people will come eye to eye. These were the very weaknesses of current system; thus, the reform may be considered an urgent necessity.
Even so, the bigger picture always has another one attached to it: the human perspective, as seen through eyes of those touched by the reform. To draw the best out of alterations planned, medical rehabilitation will have to improve; also, desire to work again must be met by willingness by employers to offer jobs to those only partially capable. Most importantly, however: the reform must be thoroughly thought through, in content and technically, so as to save people from blunders and insecurity caused by lack of information.
The main change, supposedly starting July 2015, would be Töötukassa (Estonia’s unemployment insurance fund – edit) tackling assessment of capacity and helping folks get jobs. At the moment, Estonia has close to 100,000 work incapacity pensioners, of whom about a half do also work. It is estimated that some 15,000 people are such as could work, at partial load at least, yet not having found the opportunity. To help these back to work – this the reform should do.
At least a part of disability-related-incapacity should be solvable within the reform: the €180m out of EU social fund should help acquire the wheelchairs, hearing and seeing aids/compensators and adjusted workplaces making it possible for the disabled to do some jobs. Add the trainings, retrainings and all else offered to the unemployed.
Obviously, during the reform, Töötukassa’s load will significantly increase. No longer having just to find jobs, within six years they will have to reassess capacity of all 100,000 incapacity pensioners. True, Töötukassa does have some small experience with helping the disabled get jobs; even so, the reform adds lots of work, requiring enhanced readiness.
In today’s Postimees, a representative of Estonian Disabled Persons Chamber expresses concern over such persons’ future: those who currently depend on incapacity pensions fear the money may disappear or be late in coming.
Clearly, every major change carries an amount of insecurity; surely, this isn’t always reasonable. Still, with people dependant on incapacity pension mainly, the worries should be regarded as important, doing all in the name of saving them from trouble. The 2008 months-long confusion with incapacity pension payments should never happen again.