Pension and lump sum cuts to be frozen
The government plans to freeze the cuts to main and supplementary pensions and retirement lump sums through amendments that Alternate Social Security Minister Dimitris Stratoulis is to table in Parliament.
Despite strong pressure from the country’s creditors for the restructuring of the social security system and measures that will slash even low-tier main pensions, the government appears determined to bring in a series of regulations that will run counter to existing pledges the state has made to its lenders.
The government’s general secretariat has already received the draft amendments that will suspend the application of the zero-deficit clause on supplementary pensions, which would have led to cuts of 7 percent since the start of the year and 8 percent from July 1 onward.
The mathematical equation for the calculation of the retirement lump sum will also be revised, so the amount will not be less than that given to those who retired before August 31, 2013.
In terms of main pensions, the amendments will provide for the suspension of the method of their calculation that was supposed to apply as of January 1, 2015, so that “the public character of social security can be restored,” according to the ministry.
