Yesterday, the Minister of Labour, Marinos Mousiouttas, gave food for discussion on specific facts and data regarding the pension reform.
Speaking during his presence in the Parliamentary Labour Committee, which he briefed on the developments so far concerning both the pension and other issues related to the labour market, the competent minister gave details about the increases in the minimum pensions, the 12% penalty, the changes in the procedures concerning the integration of young people into the social security system, the part of the investment policy of the Social Security Fund, the second pillar concerning the Provident Funds, but also the borrowing of the state from the Social Security Fund.
Regarding the actuarial reduction of 12%, the minister said that "it will be reduced by a certain percentage and therefore there will be an increase in the pensions of those who had suffered the actuarial reduction or those that will arise during the transitional period of 5 years", he said.
Increase in pensions
Mr. Mousiouttas referred to the part of the increases, clarifying from the beginning that the minimum pension is not going to reach the levels of the numbers that had been heard before the elections. Asked to give examples of pension increases, the Minister of Labour noted:
(a) An employee with an income of €11,000 per year (€800 per month), who worked for 45 years, today receives a pension of €504 per month. With the reform, he will get €750, i.e. a 50% increase.
(b) Another person with the same characteristics (pension of €504 per month), but who falls under the criteria for additional €220 from the small "axe", receives a total of €720 per month. With the changes, his pension will rise to €750 per month, but the "axe" will be reduced from €220 to €110. Therefore, in total he will receive €830 per month from €720 he previously received. In fact, given that he will receive one check and not two. "The increases will be for everyone and will range from 5% to 50%-55%, depending on their units, their years of work and whether they were continuous or intermittent."
Provident Funds
In relation to the second pillar, the Minister of Labour noted that the position of the unions remains "strong", mainly, that the first and second pillars should be co-decided, "something that we oppose, but not dogmatically".
He noted that the effort is to proceed with the first pillar, for which the legislation is almost ready, and the discussion on the second pillar to continue until there is a conclusion. "I think that by September we will be able to have decided on the second pillar, but there is an understanding from everyone that the implementation of the second pillar will start after 3-4 years. What needs to be done, he added, is to agree on whether the provident funds will be mandatory or voluntary, how this money will be given to the retiring employee, etc.", he said.
In the standards of the Hydrocarbons Fund
Referring to the part of the Fund's investment policy, the Minister of Labour noted that the model of the Hydrocarbons Fund has been adopted, which will also be applied in the case of the Social Security Fund, noting that any investments will be made with the least possible risk, even if this means low returns.
"What we must be careful about is that any actions taken do not disturb the economic peace that exists today, that is, that the state does not come into a difficult position, in which we have a good and healthy Fund, but bad conditions in the economy.
Unit credits
The Minister of Labour referred to groups of people who are not credited with points, as it is either difficult or even impossible to work and said that the state will come and credit points to these people.
Indicatively, he referred to mothers who take care of their children, disabled people, informal caregivers, students who return from their studies and may be looking for work for a year.
For all these categories, the new system will subsidize units, so that they are added to the units they will then receive from their working life and their total pension will increase," he explained. Finally, he added that people aged 16 and over will be enrolled in the social insurance system, so that work units are not lost.
