In Norddjurs Municipality is struggling with the economy.
for several years, the cost of the payment of pre-retirement benefits namely increased significantly in the municipality, and in the past two years have far exceeded the budgets in this area.
the very high cost of disability pensions has been a crucial factor for the local board to the great dissatisfaction of the citizens in the fall might force extensive cuts on the 460 million over the next four years.
Since the first of June 2018 has the municipal caseworkers and rehabiliteringsteam set 106 citizens to Pensionsnævnet, if the task is to make the final decision on the allocation of, for example, an early retirement pension.
In 53 of the cases, citizens are been approved, but after the news about the municipality’s economic chaos got out in the course of the autumn, has Pensionsnævnet ago 24. October suddenly rejected all of the 36 cases on the allocation of the disability pension, which they subsequently have to take a position on the basis of the settings from both caseworkers and rehabiliteringsteam.
the Unity Ulf Harbo, who is a member of the municipality’s business and arbejdsmarkedsudvalg, believe that it is due to the poor economy in the municipality:
– They have rejected 100 percent of the cases. It is pretty crazy. It is, of course, because we have been in to bankruptcy and being put under administration. You have realized that we cannot afford to give the early-retirement pensions, and therefore tightens you up the requirements, he says to Ekstra Bladet.
A majority of the business committee has agreed that visitationskravene and the requirements for documentation should be strengthened, and therefore one has asked caseworkers to identify the cases further. But the explanation gives Ulf Harbo’t do much for.
– There is talk about law. They are trying to formulate it such that there is someone who may come after them. Now we must keep an eye on what happens with the cases of both the concerned citizens and our employees are very frustrated and unsafe. No one wants to go back to the way the job centre was on before 2015, where you in big style maintained the sick without the ability to work on cash assistance, states Ulf Harbo.
At Christiansborg looks Alternativets socialordfører, Torsten Gejl, with worried about my development in Norddjurs Municipality.
– We will have the minister in consultation, because it is a clear example, that you have put the plug in. We have several times seen, that the municipalities take decisions on the basis of the box thinking, but provides a different justification, and it is simply not, he says to Ekstra Bladet.
Citizens must be able to feel secure that they can get an early retirement pension, if they are set to it, he continues.
the Article continues under the picture …
Looks like a stop
Ekstra Bladet has spoken with Iben Bolvig, who is senior researcher at The National Research and analysis centre for welfare. She stresses that it is illegal for a municipality to reject the cases on the granting of the disability pension in the light of the poor economy.
– It is clear that you must not use the municipality’s economy as justification for not granting the pension, for it is bound to.
Although she doesn’t look Norddjurs Municipality’s sudden change of course as illegal, concedes she is talking about a radically different approach to førtidspensionsområdet.
– It looks like a stop. In my opinion, it is evident that one has the thought that now you must take a different course. Either it will mean longer vurderingstid or more rejections, in the long term, and it shows the numbers already, I think.
Iben Bolvig elaborates:
– I have seen some graphs that shows that you have assigned an increasing number of early retirement pensions for a longer time in the Local. My bet is that you from a forvaltningsperspektiv have thought that you have assigned too many, and that one then is to find an appropriate level now. Therefore, one can also imagine that the in the background has exposed these cases.
Expenditure related to disability pensioners in Norddjurs municipality
recent years have Norddjurs Municipality massively exceeded the budget on the førtidspensionsområdet.
2016: 12.000.000 kronor
2017: 29.381.000 crowns
2018: 33.243.000 crowns
2016: 23.289.000 crowns
2017: 43.609.000 crowns
2018: the Amount is not yet known.
Source: Statistics Denmark,
In the business and labour market committee rejects vice-president Lars Sørensen from Left to Ekstra Bladet, that there is a stop of the granting of early retirement pensions.
– We have sent the cases back to the caseworkers, because we will have more evidence on the table, before we assign pre-retirement benefits. It’s not that they can’t get it, if they need the disability pension, they must of course have the.
– But has the documentation not been good enough before?
– you may well say, but we have assessed that there is a need for more documentation before we can assign pre-retirement benefits.
– But do you agree that it looks like a full stop, when you choose to send all cases back to the caseworkers?
– no, No. The ones that are obvious, smoking right through without economic considerations. It has always been our view that the people must have their disability pension, and I know we have also granted 60 until the first of July.
– But for business and arbejdsmarkedsudvalg in October, austerity measures, has not only been awarded the disability pension, even though both caseworkers and rehabiliteringsteam has estimated that they must have it. Have caseworkers as not done their job well enough?
– It is, of course, because we have determined that the documentation should be better, and so they must be sent back through the mill again. Meet the requirements, they must of course be awarded disability benefits. But caseworkers must also learn how to work under the new rules.
– So you do not make it here, because the municipality has a poor economy, which for several years has used much of the budget on just førtidspensionsområdet?
– No, we do not. We can’t run from, that there has been a misconduct in the economy, as we have been hit hard by. But if you look at the figures, we end up the about with to assign as many pre-retirement benefits in 2018, as we did last year.
– So you can guarantee that some of the citizens, who now has been sent back to the caseworkers, end up getting awarded disability pension?
– Yes, I would like to put the head on the block and love.
