In a race the services of the European Commission have been engaged in a race e-EFKA, in order to credit by the end of the year the accounts of thousands of freelancers amounts totalling EUR 105 million.
This is part of the total of 208.3 million euros owed by the institution to 345,000 insured persons - non-employees who paid for 2019 contributions amounts higher than their declared income.
These amounts were derived from the last settlement of contributions for the year 2019, as well as from 2020 onwards, the self-employed, the self-employed and farmers, declare themselves the amount of contributions they wish to make, choosing between 6 compulsory categories, regardless of their income.
The relevant application has already been posted on the e-EFKA website and 1.5 million non-employees can choose until 31 January the amount of their contributions - thus shaping their future pensions - for the year 2021. If they do not apply, they will join the insurance category they are currently in.
According to information, the administration of the Agency in cooperation with the leadership of the Ministry of Labour, are engaged in a race in order, within the next few days remaining until the expiration of the year, to return to thousands of professionals and self-employed the credit balance due to them. In fact, the first reactions to delays in payments are not lacking, as the initial announcement of the Ministry of Labour was that the amounts would be returned on 15 December.
The board of directors of the e-EFKA, as of last week, approved an increase in the state credit of €45 million to «settle pending reimbursements of amounts unduly collected resulting from the settlement of insurance contributions for the year 2019». In fact, the increase in expenditure results in a worsening of the financial result for the e-EFKA, at the close of 2020, with the result that the super-agency now has a deficit of €298.996 million.
Thus, the financial result, i.e. the result without taking into account financial transactions and keeping constant the initial change in the outstanding e-FSA liabilities, is limited to a surplus of just €4 million.
In total, for reimbursements, the budget of the Agency has entered €105 million (€60 million initially and an additional €45 million with the last amendment), which are estimated to be refunded to those non-employees who have registered an IBAN with the EFKA.
It should be noted that the last settlement of insurance contributions for 2019 resulted in a total of 343,669 insured persons with an average credit balance of 606.17 euros. The total amount is estimated at 208.3 million euros, but there was a deadline of 30 November 2020 to declare on the e-EFKA website if they wish to offset their credit balance against subsequent insurance contributions. Those who have expressed a wish to be offset will not now receive the refund in a lump sum, but it will be offset against their future obligations to the EFKA.
Overall, the clearance showed that out of a total of 1,503,043 insured persons, 359,000 declared last year the contributions corresponding to their taxable income, so that they have nothing to look forward to (neither debit nor credit balance). Insured with a zero result, i.e. 800,349 insured have an average debit balance of 1,355.61 euros, which they will have to pay in 5 monthly instalments with a deadline for payment of the first instalment on 31/3/2021 and of course 343,669 insured with an average credit balance of 606.17 euros, who are on the list of refunds.
