Slovak Social Insurance Agency plans 30 million euro system modernization

The Slovak Social Insurance Agency is planning a modernization project for its benefit agenda, estimated to cost 30 million euros and conclude by 2032. The initiative aims to create a Unified Benefit Agenda System to cover pensions and other benefits.

However, the Supreme Audit Office of the Slovak Republic (NKÚ) has raised concerns regarding the agency's current reliance on manual processes. An audit revealed that 77 percent of pension recognition tasks involve manual activity, with a single pension file requiring 62 practical steps. The agency currently moves large volumes of paper documents between departments using shopping carts.

Furthermore, the NKÚ warned about the long-term sustainability of the existing system, which has relied on IBM software written in COBOL since the 1990s. While the technology is considered stable, there is a growing shortage of specialists capable of maintaining and developing such legacy systems.