Constitutional restrictions and the influence of their own benefits (especially for MPs with a single term) lead lawmakers to decide that the new regulations that may be approved on the 10th of the month by the Plenary Session of the Parliament concern future state officials and not the existing ones.
The scales so far seem to be tilting towards the approval of the package of party bills, which will fully guarantee the pension rights of existing officials (which they will continue to receive from the age of 60) for the period until June 1, 2026.
In order to avoid getting into new adventures with the judiciary, some parties are considering the possibility of grafting the bills with the amendment of the president of the Ecologists Stavros Papadouris, according to which existing state officials will be excluded from the new legislation, so that they can be applied to the next ones, who will either be appointed or elected. so that there is no risk that the new regulations will be deemed unconstitutional.
The rationale behind this amendment is that it is in line with both the Court's decision and the position that the Government reflects in the bill for the granting of tips to officials who will serve after the approval of the new legislative framework.
Problem for one-term MPs
Therefore, those state officials who have secured their pension rights on June 1, 2026 will not be affected at all. In fact, when they retire at the age of 60, they will receive their benefits without any restrictions. However, MPs who are in their first term until June 1, 2026 will not have fully guaranteed their pension rights, as in order to benefit from them in their entirety, they will have to serve two terms. That is why a change in the law is being promoted, for the granting of the pension to the 65th year of age of state officials instead of the 60th year that it is today. That is, with these data, the MP who is currently in his first term will receive his pension benefits at the age of 60 and regardless of re-election or not, he will receive his pension at the age of 65.
Plus and minus €500
In practice, this means that in some categories the pension will be suspended, in others the amount of €500 will be added as follows:
-Someone who has retired and is elected as a member of parliament at the age of 67 will receive the salary of the MP. However, if his pension is higher than the MP's salary, he will receive an additional minimum salary of €500.
-A retired civil servant who will be elected either community leader or deputy mayor and his earnings will be lower than the amount of the pension, will only receive the pension instead of a salary that was higher than his earnings.
Other amendments are being prepared
Representatives of the Legal Service had expressed reservations in Parliament about this regulation, as they believed that once someone has established a pension, you cannot deprive him of it because he was appointed a state official.
In addition, they believe that there can be no interference with the pension rights established by officials until 2012, the date on which the law on pension rights of civil servants was passed.
So far, the MPs of DISY, ELAM and the Ecologists are in favour of this formula. In addition to the amendment of the Ecologists, ELAM has also prepared an amendment, with which the payment of the pension to officials will begin at the age of 65 and any money saved will end up for the low pensioners.
On the other hand, EDEK and DIPA seem to support the government bill, which will grant a tip based on a specific formula. It is worth noting that the bill is on the agenda and is followed by the parties' legislative proposals.
AKEL's proposal is unconstitutional
As far as AKEL is concerned, it is considering either abstaining or voting against the bill and the parties' bills, as it considers that they conflict with the Constitution. Yesterday, AKEL's proposal for a law was discussed in the Parliamentary Committee on Finance, which provides for the creation of a single pension plan for state officials. The discussion of this bill has not been completed and will continue in September. AKEL MP Giorgos Loukaidis said that through their proposal, the existing rights of state officials, i.e. lump sums and pensions, are preserved, in a similar way as the other party proposals. "Our position is that it does not make sense to be an official and receive a professional pension," he stressed. The Ministry of Finance and the Legal Service disagreed with the proposed law and consider it unconstitutional. According to the ministry's spokeswoman, the main problem is that a new legal framework is being established from the beginning, which is the competence of the executive power.
