Labor Min. Vroutsis: Main and supplemental pension amounts to be restored under new draft bill; system viable to 2070
The new social security insurance system will be viable at least until 2070, according to the actuarial analysis accompanying the related draft bill, Labor and Social Affairs Minister Yiannis Vroutsis told Skai TV.
Vroutsis said that the insurance changes will make the system simpler and more flexible, linking contributions to the amount of pension, and raising both main and supplemental pension amounts. He asserted that it will not introduce any reduction in pensions.
The raises in main and supplemental amounts incorporated in the draft bill relate to future pensioners and those who retired after what is known as "the Katrougalos law" of the previous government. "Pensioners who completed their work cycle under this law will receive the raises foreseen, as long as they have completed 30 years plus a day of work," Vroutsis said, "thus providing an incentive to remain within the insurance system."
Asked about supplemental pension amounts, the minister said that "pensions totalling a combined main and supplemental income of over 1,300 euros have been cut back. All of these will now be reintroduced and returned in full. The range of increase is from 5 euros to 200 euros, with a weighted average of about 99.5 euros. This regulation will go into effect counting retroactively as of October 1, 2019, and the payout will occur in a single, one-time amount, automatically."
In terms of pensioners who wish to continue working, Vroutsis said that they will receive 70 percent of their pension, but if they are not within the law they will be fined. "For the government, pensioners are an active, dynamic and vital segment with great experience, which has a lot to offer. By intervening with this draft bill, we are restoring the injustices of the Katrougalos law and giving an opportunity to his human resource - rich in energy, knowledge and experience - to return to production." This, he said, restores the previous government's "punitive policy." In the case of farmers, moreover, they will be able to get 100 percent of their pension if they keep working, he underlined.
On the issue of the backlog on outstanding pension applications, the Labor minister said that it would not be resolved by human resources alone, but through the "Atlas" digital pension system. As of June 1, he reiterated, a third of all new pension applications will be settled digitally, until the electronic processing reaches 90 percent by 2021. Contributing to this will also be the administrative and organizational unification of the insurance system, which will be operational as of March 1, 2020. All services will be linked to the main, current unified platform, EFKA, as e-EFKA.