About 100,000 are the pensioners who declared that they are working, the Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Security said. Panos Tsakloglouin an interview on a program of the TV station SKAI.

As he said, “it is a measure that gives the right to pensioners who wish to work normally, without any withholding in their pension and with the return of a resource for EFKA, amounting to 10%, on the salary. This measure has already been positively received by almost 100,000 pensioners, who are working, enjoying a higher income now, but also later, as, when they decide to retire for good, it is recalculated and increased.”

Regarding the grant of pension to insured persons who have debts to the EFKA, the Deputy Minister of Labor clarified that this is “a measure that does not concern employees, who normally receive their pension, regardless of the payment of contributions by their employers. According to the new legislation, the debt limit to be entitled to a pension increases from 20,000 euros to 30,000 euros (from 6,000 euros to 10,000 euros for the insured of the former OGA). The conditions for inclusion in the favorable regulation are that there are no deposits that exceed 12,000 euros and that contributions have been paid for at least 20 years. 60% of their pension will be withheld by EFKA, until the debt reaches the old limits and, after that, they will enter, like the rest of the debtors, in the 60 installments”.

To a question about widow’s pensions, Mr. Tsakloglou answered the following: “The discussion concerns widow’s pensions in the private sector. By law, after the first three years of pension payment, if the widow or widower has income either from their own pension or from employment, the compensatory part of the pension paid is cut in half, i.e. from 70% to 35% . This is a provision that already applies to public sector and OGA pensioners and has not yet been applied to the private sector due to problems with the software, which is now operational. In the next period, it will be decided how exactly the legislation will be implemented.”

As for the Auxiliary Capitalization Insurance Fund (TEKA), the Deputy Minister of Labor clarified that, in essence, this is a personal “piggy bank” and concerns all people who were insured from the end of 2021 onwards, for whom participation is mandatory, while, optionally, they can also choose those born, until 1987. As he noted, “right now, the young people registered are just under 400,000 and over 140,000 are the employers. At this stage, the core portfolio is being prepared and, after 2026, there will be three portfolios, one with a little more risk and one with a lower one.”

Also, Mr. Tsakloglou clarified that, the greater the risk of the investments of the reserves, the greater the return, but, in any case, the capital is guaranteed, as the state guarantees that the pension, which will be provided, will corresponds at least to the actual value of the contributions paid by the insured.

Finally, regarding the maternity allowance, the Deputy Minister of Labor underlined that, during the previous four years, it was extended from six to nine months for women employed in the private sector and is now granted, for the first time, to self-employed women and farmers at the minimum salary (830 euros) for nine months.

Regarding the delay observed in the payments, Mr. Tsakloglou clarified that, due to a problem in the software of the Public Employment Service (DYPA) for self-employed women, which, however, has already been corrected, there was a slight delay. “However, since yesterday, the benefits have started to be paid again normally” added the Deputy Minister of Labor.