September 2020

30Sep

One in five retirees is under 65

More than one in every five pensioners in Greece is under the age of 64, according to the figures of the Helios pensions database for September. The Labor Ministry’s register has 2,486,053 retirees, of whom 559,079 or 22.48% are aged up to 64, thanks to the favorable retirement status granted to them by several social security funds and early retirement opportunities. The figures also showed that the average monthly main pension in Greece this month amounted to 726.70 euros,...

September 30, 2020
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25Sep

Greece. Funded pension plan for more workers

The Labor and Social Security Ministry is examining the idea of granting younger workers – with few years of labor in the current social security system – the option of choosing to join the new funded auxiliary pension system, the very system that new entrants in the labor market must now enter by law. The same option, per the proposals examined at the General Secretariat for Social Security, will also be offered to any groups of workers who have...

September 25, 2020
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07Sep

Greece.Pay as you go for auxiliary pensions

The government’s major social security reform will be promoted in 2021, following the necessary economic and actuarial studies and public consultation. Its main focus will be on the creation of a deposit system in auxiliary pensions. This is based on the idea that the contributions of salary workers who have just entered the system will not be used for the payment of today’s auxiliary pensions, but instead form the pension capital of each individual worker. The changes will be...

September 7, 2020
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August 2020

25Aug

Greece. Wave of Pension Applications Swamp Overwhelmed Greek System

Greece's New Democracy government, which said retroactive pension payments ordered by the country's highest administrative court would begin in September, is also being hit with a deluge of applications for new pensions. The backlog could hit more than 300,000, said Kathimerini, and return the country to when beneficiaries had to wait two years or longer for their first check and were barred under law from working during that time. There was a big jump in people filing in January...

August 25, 2020
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04Aug

Greece. New pension reform in the pipeline

A new overhaul of Greece’s pensions system is being prepared, in which first-tier, or main pensions, will be higher and second-tier, or auxiliary, pensions will be invested, providing an element of risk. The proposal, prepared by a committee under Cypriot-British Nobel laureate Sir Christopher Pissarides, is expected to be made public Monday for public consultation before being adapted into a bill and tabled in Parliament. Kathimerini understands that there will be significant changes in the pension system’s structure. Specifically,...

August 4, 2020
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July 2020

30Jul

Greece to return 1.4 bln euros to pensioners hit during debt crisis

Greece will this year return 1.4 billion euros to pensioners whose income was slashed during the financial crisis of the past decade, the country's prime minister said on Wednesday. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' conservative government made the decision following a top court ruling which said that some pension cuts imposed in 2015-2016 were illegal. Mitsotakis said the one-off payment applies only to main pensions - not supplementary pensions or benefits. The money will be distributed to about 2 million...

July 30, 2020
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15Jul

Greece’s supreme court rules for reimbursement of pension cuts

The Council of State, Greece's supreme administrative court, on Tuesday issued five rulings awarding back payments of wrongfully cut pensions to pensioners for the period between June 2015 and May 2016, ANA reports. The court found in favor of pensioners that had appealed against the pension cuts, seeking their backdated return for the above period. All those that had contested the cuts in court will receive backdated payments.Those that have not yet initiated proceedings for the return of the sums...

July 15, 2020
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07Jul

Greece. Main and auxiliary pensions to be paid together

Starting next month, Greek pensioner will be receiving their main and auxiliary pensions at the same time, Labor and Social Security Minister Yiannis Vroutsis told Skai TV on Saturday, adding that more changes to improve the pensions and the social security system are in the pipeline. Besides the simultaneous payment of pensions as of August, Vroutsis said that pensioners with at least 30 years of service will also see an increase to their main pension from September. He added...

July 7, 2020
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03Jul

Greece. Open call to foreign pensioners

Greece is about to issue an open invitation to foreign pensioners to relocate their tax domicile to Greece, with a bill to that effect set to be put up for consultation today or on Monday, Finance Minister Christos Staikouras stated on Thursday. He also reiterated his view that the economy will not shrink any more than 8% this year. In an interview on Skai Radio Staikouras revealed the bill is ready for public consultation, offering tax incentives to pensioners...

July 3, 2020
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June 2020
02Jun

Greece. Significant raise for 236,000 auxiliary pensions

As of Tuesday, more than 236,000 pensioners will see their auxiliary pensions increased by an average of 75.47 euros, according to estimates by the Single Social Security Entity (EFKA). The hikes only concern retirees who saw their auxiliary benefits reduced in the summer of 2016 per the so-called Katrougalos law because the sum of their main and auxiliary pensions exceeded €1,300. The biggest category of raise recipients is the 206,000 former salary workers insured with the Social Security Foundation...

June 2, 2020
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