Dual Insurance: When Will Retroactive Payments and Increases Be Paid to 50,000 Pensioners?

Approximately 3,500 long-time retirees can expect to receive a retroactive payment of 200 euros on average this month, as provided for by law they will receive them in five annual installments.

In February, they will receive the two installments, totaling 80 euros.

«Queues» for retroactive payments

These retirees are entitled to increases in their monthly pensions, including retroactive payments, under the Vroutsis Law (October 2019), which improved the replacement rates for those who had more than 30 years of insurance coverage and did not have a large personal difference.

These are the «backlogs» of retroactive payments that were carried over to 2022 and involve complex cases with incomplete documentation, as well as the heirs of beneficiaries.

Specifically, out of the large group of 150,000 pensions that were recalculated, 23% is ultimately entitled to retroactive payment, that is, 34,500.

Monthly increases for existing retirees They aren't large amounts (the average increase for existing retirees is in the range of 2%–3%), since most of them retained their individual differences, while The retroactive payments are also small amounts, even though they had been pending for 26 months.

Bonuses and Retroactive Payments for 50,000 Beneficiaries

According to EFKA sources, pension increases and retroactive payments will be made this month to 50,000 simultaneously insured individuals.

Specifically, this refers to pension increases for insured individuals, most of whom have received their first pension payment since May 2016. The most common cases apply to insured persons of the former IKA who are also insured by the former OAEE and self-employed doctors and engineers (insured under the former ETAA) who are also insured through the public system.

These pensions are not included in the pending cases, given that the beneficiaries have received their first pension, they nevertheless continue to represent a hidden debt that has accumulated over many years and is a burden on the EFKA budget.

For example, even if a retired engineer from TSMEDE and the government has received only his government pension. From TSEMEDE, they are entitled to a pension supplement of 180 euros per month, effective February 2018. If he were to receive this supplement in February 2022, he would also receive the retroactive payments for 4 years (or 48 months), that is, an amount of 8,640 euros.