Pensions depend on recovery
Labor Minister Giorgos Koutroumanis told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday that salaries and pensions will take a further hit from next year should the recession persist.
?With the measures we are taking, pensions are safeguarded for 2012 and for the following years, but that is only on the condition that there is a definitive end to the threat of a default for the country,? Koutroumanis told Parliament?s Social Affairs Committee.
However, ?if this recession continues for the next few years, in 2013, 2014, 2015, no one can expect us to maintain [the current] levels for salaries and pensions,? he added.
The minister also referred to the issue of social security contribution evasion, noting that ?if everyone paid their contributions, then we could have reduced them. The message is simple: For a good pension, we have to be consistent with our obligations.?
He went on to praise the country?s social security system: ?It pays 2.76 million pensions, so we should not devalue it; it is among the best in Europe.?
