Seven questions – answers about pension increases – What applies to those who retire after the New Year

With seven questions and answers, it solves the queries of pensioners the Ministry of Labor for what concerns the upcoming increases in their pensions and at the same time, it clarifies what applies to those who become pensioners from 1/1/2023. Read in detail:

1) How many retirees will see increases of 7% starting 1/1/2023?

An increase of 7% will be seen by 1,682,116 pensioners of all the Funds and regardless of the type of pension they receive (old age, widow’s, disability). Of those, 80%-85% will see a full 7% increase, while the vast majority of the rest will see increases in excess of 6.5%, depending on how much personal difference they have.
For an additional number of 931,631 pensioners who have a large personal difference, it appears that 88% of them will also see increases in their salaries, through the abolition of the special solidarity contribution (525,456 beneficiaries with a large personal difference) and through the payment of the extraordinary aid of 250 euros (265,367 beneficiaries). At the same time, they will see a significant reduction in their personal difference.

It is recalled that the vast majority of pensioners, namely 2,472,939 out of a total of 2,613,747 (94.6%) will see one, two or even three increases in their income. In fact, the increases are such that 1 in 2 pensioners will receive at least one additional pension (many and amounts greater than an additional pension).

From the analysis of the data it follows that:
• 2,472,939 pensioners will see at least one increase (due to the 7% increase or the abolition of the solidarity contribution or the payment of the 250 euro allowance),
• 1,273,440 pensioners will see a double increase (due to the combination of the 7% increases, the abolition of the solidarity contribution or the payment of the extraordinary financial aid of 250 euros),
• 97,415 pensioners will see a triple increase (due to the combination of the 7% increase, the abolition of the solidarity levy or the payment of the extraordinary financial aid of 250 euros, as well as the application of the 4th annual increase of Vroutsis).

2) When will the increases apply to beneficiaries?

There will be an official government announcement as soon as the technical details are clarified for the exact time of payment of the 7% increases. In any case, the increases will have retroactive effect starting from 1/1/2023.

3) Will the increases be applied to both the national and contributory parts of the pension?

Yes. Both the national and contributory pension are increasing. That is, even if the growth rate for 2023 is 7%, then the national pension will be €411 in 2023 from €384 today. This will be the amount that the already retired person will receive. But also every new pension will be issued with this amount. This process is continuous: If we assume that in 2023, the average GDP and inflation will be 5%, then from 2024 onwards the national pension will be €432 and so on. Correspondingly, the remunerative part of the pension increases in the same way.

4) Will the increase in the national pension affect a number of other pension benefits?

The increase in the national pension will “entrain” a number of figures which are “tied” to the National Pension: the ceiling of the main pensions, the minimum limits of the death pensions, but also the allowance for uninsured seniors, all adjusted upwards .

5) Will the insured persons who retire within 2023 see similar increases?

And policyholders who will retire in 2023 will see increased earnings corresponding to the 7% increase that active retirees will receive from 1/1/2023.
The difference between the increases for active pensioners and those who will become pensioners from 1/1/2023 is that they are calculated using a different mechanism.
Two distinct adjustment mechanisms to inflationary pressures are foreseen by law:
The first concerns the already issued pensions: Every year from 1/1/2023 the total amount of pensions is increased based on a rate resulting from the sum of the annual rate of change in GDP plus the rate of change in the average annual general consumer price index of the previous year , divided by 2.
The second concerns pensions issued at any time in the future: The compensatory part of the pension arises on the basis of pensionable earnings. Pensionable earnings are adjusted based on the change in the average general consumer price index. In any case, pensionable earnings are adjusted up to the previous year of retirement.
So the pensions that will be issued in 2023 will be increased because the pensionable earnings will have multiplied and increased during the inflation of 2022.
Conclusion: There is no need to worry for those insured who are expected to retire in 2023 or later, as they will also see increased pension benefits corresponding to the increases that active retirees will see from 1/1/2023.

6) Will the increases of 7% be applied to those pensioners who have not yet completed the recalculation of their pensions?

First of all, this number does not exceed 100,000 cases, i.e. 4% of all pensioners. However, they will also be given the resulting increase, even if their recalculation has not been completed.

7) What is the case with pensioners who receive high pensions at the ceiling (4,608 euros) and will exceed the ceiling due to the increases?

The pension ceiling is multiple (12 times) the National Pension. So as the National Pension increases, so does the ceiling and those receiving high pensions are not affected. Therefore, from 1/1/2023 and with a 7% increase, the ceiling will be €4,932.

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