November 2017

10Nov

Greece. Pension cuts to reach up to 18 pct in 2019

The recalculation of pensions paid out to people who have already retired will likely lead to major cuts for pensioners of the former Traders’ Fund (TEBE/OAEE) and the civil servants’ fund, as well as those who used to work at banks and state firms. According to data presented to the country’s creditors by the Labor Ministry, three-quarters of the recalculations have been completed, while the process is expected to finish by year-end. The cuts will be implemented from January 1, 2019,...

November 10, 2017
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October 2017

24Oct

About 100,000 Greeks Receive their Pensions from the German State

100,000 Greek citizens are receiving their pensions from the German state, wrote German newspaper Rheinische Post. Rentenversicherung data shows that the number of Greek pensioners eligible for a German pension has more than doubled since 1990, the year of German reunification, to 1.76 million people, from 780,000. That amounts to 7% of all pensions in Germany. Almost one million pensions are being payed by the German Pensions Desk to pensioners from countries such as Italy (373,000); Spain (226,000); Greece (100,000); France (87,000), and Turkey...

October 24, 2017
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13Oct

IMF Sees Fiscal Gap for Greece, Pension Cuts Might Come Sooner

The International Monetary Fund foresees a fiscal gap of 2.3 billion euros in the 2018 budget, which might mean that the pension cuts scheduled for January 1st, 2019 will be implemented earlier. Greek finance ministry sources downplay the IMF forecast claiming that all previous predictions by the Fund, have been overly pessimistic. However, the IMF forecast might delay the third review of the bailout program, which has to be completed by the end of the year. This generates uncertainty among...

October 13, 2017
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04Oct

‘Shame on you’ chant Greek pensioners over bailout cutbacks

Several hundred elderly Greeks shouting “shame” marched through Athens on Tuesday protesting against deep cutbacks to pension payments ordered by the indebted country’s creditors. In weak autumn sun and a city teeming with tourists, pensioners took to the streets angered by more than a dozen rounds of cuts since Greece toppled deep into crisis in 2010. More cuts will be on the way in 2019, under further reform to pension regulations. Creditors including the EU and the IMF took some of...

October 4, 2017
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September 2017

15Sep

Greece. Private sector shouldering the burden, industrialists say

The union of Greek industrialists (SEV) has painted a dire picture of the state of the Greek pension system, saying basically that it is running on empty, and that the country’s beleaguered private sector has taken on a disproportionate share of the burden to support pensioners and the public sector. Given Greece’s low birth rates and rising life expectancy, the pension system is set to come under immense pressure in the coming decades. In its weekly report published on Thursday, SEV...

September 15, 2017
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April 2017

12Apr

Pension cuts in 2019 to affect some 850,000 beneficiaries in Greece

Pension rates in crisis-battered Greece are set for another round of reductions in 2019, a downward trend that commenced with the advent of the economic crisis in 2010 and the subsequent implementation of bailout-mandated reforms. The latest draft agreement between Athens and institutional creditors is forecast to lead to a weighted average decrease of up to 22 percent for currently allocated monthly pensions. As previously and repeatedly reported, the reduction in social security spending will equal one percent of GDP...

April 12, 2017
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06Apr

Greece Said to Near Bailout Compromise on Pensions, Taxes

Greece and its creditors are closing in on a deal over the reforms needed to unlock fresh loans for the country, even as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras warned that a summit of euro-area leaders may be required if an agreement isn’t reached by Friday. In a proposed compromise discussed on Tuesday, Greece would reduce its pension outlays by 1 percent of gross domestic product in 2019 and lower its tax-free threshold in 2020 by a similar amount, according to three...

April 6, 2017
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05Apr

Greek Pensions Hot Potato Puts Tsipras in Bailout Tight Spot

Athens resident Spiros is among the reasons Greece is having a hard time reaching a bailout accord with creditors. The 82-year-old is one of about 2.7 million pensioners likely to face a cut in monthly payments for the 12th time since the debt crisis in 2010, as part of the measures required for the disbursement of the next tranche of emergency loans. The government of Alexis Tsipras wants any new cuts in pensions to be phased in gradually and not...

April 5, 2017
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