Inquiry regarding problems with pension payments (no. 769)
Session: 15th Riigikogu, 6th sitting, plenary session
Date: 2025-09-22 18:26
Participating Politicians:
Total Speeches: 30
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 13m
AI Summaries: 30/30 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
The Riigikogu (Estonian Parliament) began debating an interpellation submitted by Riigikogu members Lauri Laats, Andrei Korobeinik, Vladimir Arhipov, Vadim Belobrovtsev, Aleksandr Tšaplõgin, and Aleksei Jevgrafov concerning problems with the payment of pensions. Lauri Laats, who introduced the interpellation, highlighted that due to failures in the information system of the Social Insurance Board (SKA), pensions failed to reach pensioners on time in as many as 11 months in 2024, despite the payment date being the 5th of the month. The questioners expressed concern about whether the system has been fixed and whether pensioners are protected against future disruptions.
Prime Minister Kristen Michal responded to the interpellation, rejecting the claim that the SKAIS system is "on the verge of collapse," but admitted that SKAIS2 is not the best information system and its shortcomings have been known for nearly 10 years. Michal announced that the government has allocated significant funds to fix the system: 17.4 million euros within the framework of the State Budget Strategy (RES) for the years 2026–2029, plus an additional 2.16 million euros for basic SKAIS developments during the spring and summer. The Prime Minister confirmed that the SKA has a crisis plan in place to ensure the reliability of the information system. Follow-up questions addressed the need for backup systems, the overall cost of information systems, and the persistent problem where the pension payment date falling on a weekend delays the payout until Monday or Tuesday—a situation Vadim Belobrovtsev called "harassment of pensioners." The Prime Minister reiterated that the allocated investments should fix the system in the coming years.
Decisions Made 1
No decisions were made
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar opened the session's agenda, highlighting as the first item the interpellation submitted by Riigikogu members, led by Lauri Laats, concerning problems related to the payment of pensions, and invited Lauri Laats to present it from the rostrum.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Today, we proceed to the agenda, and we will first consider the interpellations concerning problems related to the payment of pensions, which were submitted on May 12 of the current year by Riigikogu members Lauri Laats, Andrei Korobeinik, Vladimir Arhipov, Vadim Belobrovtsev, Aleksandr Tšaplõgin, and Aleksei Jevgrafov. Riigikogu member Lauri Laats is now invited to the Riigikogu rostrum to present the interpellation.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats raised concerns about the repeated failures of the Social Insurance Board in ensuring the timely payment of pensions—failures that have occurred over a staggering 11 months. Through an official inquiry, he demanded answers as to whether the system has been rectified and whether pensioners will be protected from future delays.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats highlighted in his speech the problem concerning the timely payment of pensions by the Social Insurance Board, regarding which delays occurred over 11 months in 2024, resulting in pensioners not receiving their payments on time. He also noted that four questions have been submitted in the interpellation, and the Prime Minister is ready to answer them.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Speaker Lauri Hussar thanked those present and invited Prime Minister Kristen Michal to the Riigikogu rostrum to respond to the interpellation.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar thanked the previous speaker and subsequently invited Prime Minister Kristen Michal to the Riigikogu rostrum so that he could respond to the submitted interpellation, concluding by noting that the Prime Minister is full of enthusiasm.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Prime Minister Kristen Michal responded to an interpellation concerning the payment of pensions and the critical state of the SKAIS information system. He pushed back against the claim that the system was on the verge of collapse, though he did acknowledge its outdated condition. He stressed that these problems have been known for nearly ten years and have persisted across multiple governments. Michal confirmed that the current government has finally allocated a total of 17.4 million euros for the years 2026–2029 to overhaul SKAIS, ensuring the system's reliability and bringing it up to the standard expected of a digital state.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Prime Minister Kristen Michal responded to the inquiry, stating that the SKAIS systems are operational but require enhancement, and that the timely payment of pensions is a priority. Furthermore, within the framework of the RES (State Budget Strategy) for 2026–2029, 17.4 million euros will be allocated, along with an additional 2.16 million euros for core development, to ensure the system is fit for a digital state and that maintenance is routine.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar thanks the esteemed Prime Minister, notes that there are questions for the Prime Minister, and asks Vladimir Arhipov to present his question.
Vladimir Arhipov
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Vladimir Arhipov drew attention to the difficult economic situation faced by both pensioners and minimum wage earners, who are living paycheck to paycheck. He then asked the Prime Minister whether, in addition to focusing on investments, the government had also considered a backup system or an alternative that would kick in if one economic system were to fail.
Vladimir Arhipov
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Vladimir Arhipov pointed out that pensioners essentially live from one pension payment to the next, and the same holds true for those on low wages. He then asked if there was a planned contingency or alternative system that would kick in immediately should the primary system fail.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Prime Minister Kristen Michal stressed that the flaws in the pension system and the significant amount of manual labor required contradict Estonia’s image as a seamless digital state. However, since funding has now been allocated in the budget to overhaul the system, the hope is to ensure that pensions will always be paid out precisely on the scheduled date in the future, even though the Social Insurance Board already has a crisis plan in place to guarantee the reliability of the information system.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Prime Minister Kristen Michal said that although the image of the digital state is seamless, the system does not work flawlessly and requires funding and a sense of critical urgency. He added that money has now been allocated from the budget, and there is hope that the system will be fixed and pensions will continue to be paid out in the future, even when the fifth [of the month] arrives. Furthermore, the SKA (Social Insurance Board) has an operational crisis plan to ensure the reliability of the information system, and steps will be taken, if necessary, to pay out the pensions.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Hussar invites Lauri Laats to the stage.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats voiced concern regarding the sustainability of the Social Insurance Board's payment system, citing previous warnings about potential disruptions, and questioned the Prime Minister about the system's functionality for 2025, stressing his hope that the allocation planned within the RES will finally be sufficient to fully repair the system, ensuring pensioners can rely on the timely receipt of their payments.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats raised the issue of the sustainability of the Social Insurance Board's system and the timely payment of pensions, specifically asking about potential disruptions in 2025. He also expressed hope that the additional funding planned in the RES (State Budget Strategy) would help fix the system and ensure that pensions are reliably deposited into bank accounts by the 5th of the month.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Prime Minister Kristen Michal confirmed that money has been allocated to cover the critical need and is seeking parliamentary support for the measure. He also provided a comprehensive overview of delays in pension payments, explaining that while there were technical glitches last October and again this April—resulting in 78 pensioners receiving their funds late—May payments and social benefits were delivered on time.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Prime Minister Kristen Michal announced that funds have been allocated for critical needs and the matter will be discussed in subsequent budgets, but noted at the same time that while pension payments were delayed in October and April, May payments and social benefits for people with disabilities were received on time, and home deliveries were completed on the scheduled dates.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Speaker Lauri Hussar invited Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart to speak.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart highlighted the rapidly escalating cost of maintaining e-government information systems, a cost that sometimes surpasses the expenditure on hiring officials. She stressed the duplication of systems and the prevailing confusion within the sector, and requested a comprehensive analysis from the Prime Minister concerning the rising costs and the increasing load on the e-state.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart expresses concern that the maintenance of information systems is becoming increasingly expensive and that confusion reigns in the sector, and asks whether a broader analysis has been conducted and how significant the annual increase in the e-government workload is.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Prime Minister Kristen Michal stated that maintaining information systems is a matter of basic hygiene, and the responsible processor of the specific information system is accountable for this, planning the necessary resources. Should greater needs arise, these are introduced into the budget as a supplementary request. The Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs then compiles an overview of these needs, and additional funding is planned according to budgetary possibilities. Simultaneously, the capacity to maintain the information systems is assessed and ensured—a capability that was lacking after the 1990s but is much better organized today.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Prime Minister Kristen Michal explained the principles governing the maintenance and financing of information systems, stressing that routine maintenance is a budgetary obligation of the responsible controller, while larger funding needs are covered based on the review compiled by the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs and the capabilities of the state budget. He emphasized that when systems are created, their long-term maintenance capacity must always be planned for, unlike the practice of the 1990s.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar invited Vadim Belobrovtsev to speak.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Belobrovtsev criticizes the ongoing harassment of pensioners due to the designated pension payment day, recalls an earlier discussion, and asks the Prime Minister why this continues and why the Social Insurance Board is not doing anything by 2025 for Estonia, as an IT state, to solve it.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Vadim Belobrovtsev reminds the Prime Minister of the previous debate concerning the systematic delay in pension payments to retirees whenever the scheduled payment date falls on a weekend. He then asks why this situation—which causes problems for many and was previously labeled "harassment" by the Prime Minister herself—is allowed to continue, demanding that Estonia, as an advanced IT state, compel the Social Insurance Board to resolve this issue by 2025.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
We are allocating 17.4 million within the scope of the 2026 and 2029 RES for the overhaul of the SKAIS system. Furthermore, an additional 2.16 million was added to the core development budget during the spring and summer so that the system can be fully rehabilitated in the coming years.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Prime Minister Kristen Michal explained that 17.4 million euros have been allocated for the years 2026–2029 within the framework of the State Budget Strategy (RES) for the overhaul of the SKAIS information system. This amount is supplemented by the 2.16 million euros allocated during the spring and summer for basic development, thereby ensuring the system's improvement in the coming years without major disputes.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar thanks the Prime Minister, announces that there are no questions and no requests for the floor, opens the debate, and subsequently closes it, concluding the consideration of today's first agenda item.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar thanked the Prime Minister, confirmed the absence of questions, and since no requests to speak were submitted when the debate was opened, he immediately closed it, thereby concluding the handling of the first item on the agenda.