Pensions: Hatzidakis announces additional intervention for the personal dispute

A possible new intervention for the personal dispute at the end of February is announced by the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Kostis Hatzidakis, with his statement to the Athenian-Macedonian News Agency.

Specifically, in response to a question from the Athenian-Macedonian News Agency in relation to the “unfreezing” of increases for pensioners, after 12 years and, in particular, with the issue of personal difference, as some pensioners who belong to this category did not see increases , the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Kostis Hatzidakis, gave the following answer:

“It is known that the personal dispute was institutionalized, after an agreement between the SYRIZA government and the troika in 2016 with the Katrougalou law. Subsequently, the Vroutsis law corrected on a large scale the injustices of the Katrougalos law in the context of the country’s economic potential and the Stability Program as approved by the EU.

Now that pensions are being unfrozen, this unfreezing concerns in principle all pensioners. Retirees who have a personal difference either see real raises or simply “gnaw” on their personal difference to put themselves in a better position in the next round of raises.

Out of a total of approximately 2,600,000 pensioners, 910,000 pensioners, as we have noted for several months, are not affected in their pockets by the reduction of the personal difference, which of course they “gnaw”, but they benefit either from the 250 euro allowance, which was given at the end of December or from the abolition of the extraordinary solidarity levy.

Specifically, 260,000 pensioners in this category benefit from the 250 euro allowance given at Christmas and a similar number from the corresponding allowance given in Easter 2022. Also, 515,000 pensioners in this category already have smaller or larger increases, due to of the abolition of the extraordinary solidarity levy.

It is true that 17% of pensioners with a personal difference, or 5.5% of all pensioners, are not affected by these combined increases. The prime minister was already placed last Monday on the issue of additional emergency benefits to cover special problems or injustices. He noted that the possibilities for dealing with these problems are not inexhaustible and that, in any case, a clearer picture of additional available fiscal space will be available at the end of February. Under this policy option, the government – always within budgetary possibilities – will consider additional intervention to address problems or injustices, such as that of pensioners with a personal difference, who are not adequately covered by the latest pension increases. After all, the pressure created by the international energy crisis and inflation would absolutely justify such an intervention, if it becomes possible, based on fiscal margins.

In any case, all this does not change the fact that pensioners are being given increases again, after 12 years, and in fact one in two pensioners, given 4 increases combined, will see at least one extra pension a year . Nor does it change the fact that the current government has adopted only positive measures for pensioners (increase in pensions with V. Vroutsis for pensioners with more than 30 years of insurance life, reduction of withholding for working pensioners from 60% to 30% , abolishing the €1,300 ceiling for supplementary pensions and, of course, reducing the lowest tax rate from 22% to 9%), etc. At the same time, he is criticized by those who, when they governed between 2015-2019, only took negative measures for pensioners, mainly the regulations of the Katrougalou law”.

RES-EMP

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