Croatia aims to resolve inclusive allowance backlog within eight months

Alen Ružić, Croatia's Minister of Labor, Pension System, Family, and Social Policy, announced plans to fully eliminate the backlog of inclusive allowance applications within the next six to eight months. The system has been burdened by over 400,000 requests, which require both medical assessments and administrative procedures.

To accelerate the process, the Ministry is implementing digitalization, increasing the efficiency of medical experts, and developing an artificial intelligence application designed to draft decisions based on assessment findings. The Ministry is also reorganizing the Croatian Institute for Social Work to reduce administrative burdens on social workers.

A significant concern involves approximately 15,000 individuals who passed away while waiting for a decision on their eligibility. While the Minister stated that the backlog of assessments and decisions is decreasing, a specific deadline for payments to the heirs of these deceased applicants has not yet been established.