By Chrysostomos Tsoufis

This fund week which starts today as the government’s goal is for the beneficiaries of benefits – regular and extraordinary – and pensioners to have the money at their disposal before the Christmas holidays. The payment schedule is as follows:

DECEMBER 18 – EMERGENCY SOLIDARITY SUPPORT

Beneficiaries: 1.055 million pensioners with the sum of main pensions up to €700 and a personal difference of less than €10.

33,000 uninsured seniors

Amount: €150

Cost: €158 million

DECEMBER 19 – 21 – INCREASED PENSIONS

The algorithm for this year shows a 3% increase which means that the national pension is adjusted from €413 to €426.

Beneficiaries: It is estimated that a little more than €2.6 million pensioners will see the entire increase of 3% in their pocket.

About 49,000 will zero out the personal difference they have, so in their pocket they will see an increase of less than 3% or not at all in some cases.

Cost of Increases: €430m

December 19, the payments for the funds of the non-employees, namely OAEE, OGA and ETAA, have been set.

Those who retired after New Year 2017 will also be paid regardless of whether they were employed or not.

All supplementary private sector pensions are also paid.

On December 21, the employees take their turn, i.e. the IKA-ETAM, OTE, PPC, NAT, ETAP-MME pensions.

The main and auxiliary pensions of the State are also paid.

DECEMBER 20 – PERSONAL DIFFERENCE ALLOWANCE

Between the payments of the increased pensions, the pensioners who will not see any increase in their pocket because they have a large personal difference, more than €10, will also be strengthened. The allowance is proportional to the sum of the beneficiary’s main pensions:

-€200 will be received by approximately 175,000 beneficiaries with a pension of up to €700

-€150 will be received by approximately 259,000 beneficiaries with a pension between €701 and €1100

– €100 will be received by approximately 309,000 beneficiaries with a pension between €1101 and €1600.

Total beneficiaries: 730,550

Cost: €102.8 million

DECEMBER 22 – EMERGENCY SOLIDARITY SUPPORT

It is the second payment concerning the extraordinary support, only now the beneficiaries are not pensioners but beneficiaries of welfare benefits:

800,000 child benefit recipients will get an extra one and a half payments. For example, a family with 3 children will receive an additional €280 – €700.
Total cost: €125 million

210,000 beneficiaries of the minimum guaranteed income will receive an additional half installment of the allowance which will also be increased by 8%. For example, a family of four will receive €648 (initial allowance + 8% + 50% of the initial allowance.
Total cost: €24 million

225,000 beneficiaries of the OPECA disability allowance, the non-institutional allowance and other disability allowances of the e-EFKA will receive an aid of €200
Total cost €45m

According to the calculations of the Ministry of Labor, in the context of the extraordinary solidarity allowance, about €2.3 million beneficiaries will share about €352 million.

It is reminded that until December 21, private sector companies have the obligation to pay the Christmas allowance.

On December 22, the first payment will be made to the beneficiaries of the heating allowance.