The employers’ confederation has backed up a government plan to reform the benefits system related to work incapacity. To qualify for disability payments, a person must have permanently lost 40-100% of his or her work capacity. According to the Statistics workforce survey, in 2009, there were 82,000 Estonians between the ages of 15 and 64 who had permanently lost at least 40 percent of their capacity for work; early 2012 the number had increased to 90,100 persons. The three main reasons workers end up on disability pensions are ordinary illnesses, work-related disorders and injuries. The reform based on active measures to allow people to return to a job can result in a € 350 million reduction in benefit payouts and will lower the employers’ social tax obligations.
English: http://news.err.ee/economy/e62ae557-739d-4f79-8a2c-def6db732ec6
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