Pensions: 4 +1 reasons pensioners didn’t get the raises they were counting on

By Chrysostomos Tsoufis

They stood anxiously to see the light indicator of the ATMs with the raises for the first time after 12 years in their earnings, but what they saw left them with a bitter taste. Many retirees expected to see more and finally saw more.

The first obvious reason is the burden of personal differences carried by hundreds of thousands of pensioners, a bequest of N. Katrougalos, about which, as strange as it may seem, they have no idea. We also found this through many phone calls to SKAI from pensioners who complained that they did not receive what they expected, but when we asked them if they have a personal difference and what its amount is, they raised their hands. (It is reminded that pensioners can enter e-EFKA with the taxis codes and print from the list of services the monthly information note of the main pension).

Let’s take for example a pensioner of €900, who has a personal difference of €35. With the 7.75% increase, his pension will increase by €70, but he will see an additional €35 in his wallet since the personal difference must first be zeroed out.

Many pensioners were left with the impression that they would receive a double increase, i.e. they would also receive the January retrospectives. But the contractor company failed to incorporate the retroactive increases in pensions – this will be done with the March pensions at the end of February – and many pensioners were looking “frightened” at the ATM, unable to understand how a double increase brought them such a small amount. .

In the discussion about the increases all the previous days, everyone, from the political leadership of the Ministry of Labor, the labor experts – lawyers to us journalists – it seems that… we forgot to mention that pensions are also subject to deductions, misleading to a certain extent the pensioners.

For example a €740 pension has no tax since the annual income it provides is below the tax-free limit and is therefore not subject to tax deductions. However, with the increase of 7.75%, the tax-free limit is exceeded, resulting in a tax of €84 and monthly deductions of €10. So instead of seeing an increase of €57, the particular pensioner will see €47.

In addition, the solidarity levy can I was removedHowever, the solidarity contribution of pensioners continues to be collected, which is imposed on pensions that are higher than €1400 and has rates from 3% to 14%.

Imagine for example a pensioner of €1,380 whose pension with the increase of 7.75% goes to €1,487, an increase of €107. This means that the specific person is suddenly charged with a solidarity contribution of 3% or €45. So his pension will not increase by 107€ but 107-45 = 62€.

The bigger the pensions, the bigger the losses. A pensioner with a pension of €1,582 with the increase of 7.75%, his pension increases by €123, reaching €1,706. This increase means a change in scale for the solidarity contribution and a doubling of deductions to 6%. The new deduction amounts to €102, so the new pension will drop to €1,603. So the real increase for the pensioner in this case is not €123 but only €21.

Of course, no one can rule out individual mistakes by EFKA. For example, there are quite a few complaints from pensioners with a positive personal difference who never received it. However, EFKA intends to within week na proceed to announcements which will explain in detail what exactly happened with the increases that were given or not …given.

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