Slovenians will work longer but their state pensions as a share of income will rise under a pension reform blueprint confirmed by social partners that kickstarts the legislative process.

Under an agreement penned on 2 April, the retirement age will rise from 60 years to 62 for those who have worked 40 years. Those who have not worked the full 40 years will be able to retire at 67, up from 65 at present.

The calculation of pensions will change as well. Most notably, for those retiring after 40 years of work, pension would amount to 70% of their average lifetime earnings, 6.5 percentage points more than at the moment.

On the flip side, the rate will be calculated on the full 40 years minus the five worst years. At present, the 24 best years are taken as the basis, which is more favourable.

All the changes will be phased in gradually by 2035.

Pension reform has long been a key item on the government agenda, and Prime Minister Robert Golob hailed the agreement as a success and as "a victory of dialogue and respect among the stakeholders".

The corporate sector welcomed the deal as well, because they succeeded in keeping the current contribution rates, which are lower for employers than for employees, unchanged.

Trade unions, meanwhile, described the agreement as not ideal, but said it was an improvement over the original negotiating positions put forward by the government and hence an acceptable compromise.

While this is the biggest change to the state pension system in more than a decade, some experts warn that the changes fall short of what would be needed given the current state of the economy and demographic change projections.

Jaka Cepec, a professor at the Ljubljana School of Economics and Business, told the Slovenian Press Agency that the changes should be broader, instead they are "a mini reform, not a major structural reform that would result in serious changes in the long term."

Valentina Franca, a professor of labour and social security law at the Ljubljana Faculty of Public Administration, thinks that the changes should be coupled with a broader crackdown on illegal work and untaxed platform work to expand the range of sources of state pensions.