Social Security

By Roula Salourou

The government plans to freeze the cuts to main and supplementary pensions and retirement lump sums through amendments that Alternate Social Security Minister Dimitris Stratoulis is to table in Parliament.

By Roula Salourou

Only a growth shock could save the Greek social security system: Even after the interventions of the last five years in terms of retirement age limits, pension levels, expenditure cuts and distortion corrections, which resulted in savings of some 14 billion euros per annum, the system is again ailing.

The earlier-than-usual start to the tourism season ? thanks to Orthodox Easter falling in the first half of April ? helped the labor market to post a slight recovery last month, with the Labor Ministry?s Ergani hiring register showed a net rise of 22,313 jobs in March.

Greece levies the highest taxes on families with two children among the 34 member-states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Taxes on wages rose by 1% for the average worker in OECD countries between 2010 and 2014, even though the majority of governments did not increase statutory income tax rates, according to the new OECD report on tax burdens.

Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Ivaylo Kalfin proposed the contributions to state social insurance to start increasing from 2017.

The proposal foresees a total increase of 4.5 % over twelve years, with pension contributions increasing with 0.5 % every second year, while unemployment contributions will rise with 0.2 %.

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The Council of State, the country?s highest administrative court, on Friday ruled that the abolition in 2013 of the Christmas and summer bonuses awarded to pensioners before the crisis was constitutional and cannot be challenged.

The court said that the measure was in line with need to cut public spending and that it contributed to the reduction of Greece?s fiscal deficit.

By Vangelis Mandravelis

One word was enough to again change the purpose of the planned State Property Fund, which the government sees replacing TAIPED. A change in the draft law provides for only part of the fund?s revenues heading toward the support of social security in Greece.

 Social security funds reluctant to help out

By Sotiris Nikas & Roula Salourou

The government has called on major public corporations, including utilities, to invest their cash reserves in state debt, along the lines of the proposal made to social security funds and other state entities.