Social Security

Only those} who have small debts, under 10,000 euros, to the social security funds can repay them, while individuals and businesses with larger debts, due to the surcharges, burden the social security system with ever greater debts.

A fairer system envisaging a more proportionate burden on working pensioners, so that the declaration of employment is not a disincentive, is expected to be announced in Parliament on Thursday by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in the context of the presentation of his government's program.

The Economy Ministry is in a race against time for changes to the civil servants' salary system to be confirmed in the next few weeks and the new provisions to be included in the first omnibus bill.

Starting next year, employers will pay only the first two days of sick leave. This is one of the measures that the authorities are working on for the 2024 Budget, Finance Minister Asen Vassilev announced at the meeting of the Trilateral Cooperation Council. The social partners discussed the parameters of this year's financial framework.

The planning of the Single Social Security Entity (EFKA) for the next few months provides for the closure of tens of thousands of pending issues.

Retroactive refunds to tens of thousands of insured persons, the cancellation of debts that have not been sought for 10 years, as well as "rebates" for payment of contributions are to be dealt with by this fall.

Agencies at the Single Social Security Entity (EFKA) are running two parallel projects, in addition to the issuance of the pending pensions: main, auxiliary and retirement lump sums.

The measures introduced by the government to support incomes were significant, however, they could make up for the high cost incurred by employers due to social security contributions.

Registered unemployment totaled 1,035,580 in March, down 5.2% from March 2022 and down 3.6% from February 2023, the state manpower authority said on Thursday.

More specifically, 533,314 unemployed (51.5% of total) were long-term unemployed, 370,903 were men (35.8%) and 664,677 were women (64.2%).

The Single Social Security Entity is entering a new digitization phase, as seven reforms are already under way which, when completed, are expected to turn EFKA into a truly modern organization.

The platform for applications for refunds of the 2019 and 2020 social security contributions to 23,000 salaried lawyers, salaried engineers and doctors is now open.

This concerns several million euros which were wrongly imposed on the above professionals and collected by the Single Social Security Entity (EFKA).