Pensions

Thousands of pensioners will be dealt a fresh blow on Wednesday as they pick up their lighter auxiliary pensions, while the country's creditors have asked for a series of amendments to labor laws and are demanding extra measures for the primary surplus target to be met next year, adding to the pressure on the Greek government.

Letters to hundreds of thousands of pensioners signed by Labor and Social Security Minister Giorgos Katrougalos have generated waves of discontent and court cases against reductions in auxiliary pensions.

Thousands of elderly citizens gathered on Monday at a demonstration against pension reductions. Tensions run high between the protesting pensioners and the police, resulting in the use of chemicals against the pensioners on Monday’s rally in Athens.

The pension cuts to date have left some 1.2 million pensioners struggling to make ends meet. According to data compiled by the Network for Pensioners, three out of five retirees receive monthly pensions below 700 euros, with 44.8 percent of them getting less than 665 euros.

One out of two pensioners fall below the extreme poverty line, according to figures released on Thursday by the Greek Pensioner’s Network.

A series of cuts in three categories of beneficiaries are expected in pensions, that will start being paid on Thursday.
The three categories are the beneficiaries of ancillary pensions who are included in the third reductions package, the divident beneficiaries and the double pensioners, due to withholdings increase over EOPYY.

Even if the Government with the insurance law of Katrougalos has imposed cuts in ancillary pensions, the abolishment of EKAS, an increased deduct contribution and 11 in total ways to cut the pension of hundreds of thousands of pensioners, the deficit of IKA has doubled because of the reduction of the state funding and the income decrease.

Despite the pensioner’s patience, IKA’s deficit is doubled by the reduction of Government Funding. The administration of the Social Security Foundation (IKA) revealed that the deficit will be 2.1 Billion Euros for 2016, from 950 millions  last year.

A series of cuts in the pensions of hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries are expected to take effect in October. 650.000 pensioners will see their supplementary pensions re-evaluated, while a large number of pensioners will see their main pensions slashed.

Following the uproar caused by revelations that thousands of ancillary pensions were in danger of totally disappearing as a result of retroactive deductions in three instalments, the government has backtracked and plans to place a limit on the deductions.