Pensions for January 2026 will be paid earlier as scheduled in December 2025, bringing a 2.4% increase to approximately 2.5 million pensioners. The early payment is due to the Christmas holidays, while significant changes are being implemented for beneficiaries with personal differences and those subject to the Pensioner Solidarity Contribution.
January 2026 pension payment dates
The pension payment schedule has been finalized with the following dates:
– Friday, December 19, main and supplementary benefits will be paid from OPS and EFKA for those who retired after January 1, 2017, as well as from OAEE, OGA, and ETAA.
– Monday, December 22, concerns payments from IKA, NAT, and Public Sector.
EFKA is already proceeding with the necessary calculations for the total expenditure, which is expected to reach 542 million euros for 2026. Of this amount, 467 million euros corresponds to the increases and 75 million euros to the gradual elimination of personal differences.
Increase amounts by pension category
The net increases that pensioners will receive are distributed as follows:
• Pensions 500 to 850 euros: increase of 12 to 20 euros
• Pensions 800 to 1,300 euros: increase up to 31 euros
• Pensions 1,300 to 1,500 euros: increase up to 36 euros
• Pensions 1,500 to 1,800 euros: increase up to 45 euros
• Pensions 1,800 to 2,700 euros: increase up to 65 euros
• Pensions above 2,700 euros: increase up to 100 euros
Beneficiaries of the increases are former pensioners who retired before May 13, 2016, with completed recalculation, as well as those with pending recalculation who will receive a temporary increase. Also included are pensions not subject to recalculation, such as OGA and NAT.
Exceptions from pension increases
Those receiving temporary pensions until the issuance of a final decision will remain without increases. Supplementary pensions for 1.3 million beneficiaries continue to remain stable for another year.
The total increase for the three-year period 2023 to 2025 reached 13.6%, distributed as 7.75% in 2023, 3% in 2024, and 2.4% in 2025.
Modifications to Pensioner Solidarity Contribution
The calculation scale for the Pensioner Solidarity Contribution undergoes adjustment. Through indexation, the exemption threshold from withholding increases to 1,469.85 euros from the current 1,434 euros, for which a 3% withholding applies.
Approximately 400,000 pensioners with main or cumulative benefits above 1,434 euros are burdened with the EAS. Available data shows that the total amount pensioners have paid through this contribution over the previous 14 years approaches 10 billion euros.
Exclusively for 2025, the 440,000 pensioners subject to EAS will contribute 886 million euros, while the government has pre-announced total tax measures worth 1.6 billion euros for 2026.
Evolution of personal differences
From December, 671,586 pensioners with personal differences will receive an increase for the first time, who until now had not benefited because the increase was offset against the difference amount.
With the abolition of offsetting, as decided in the Thessaloniki International Fair measures package, these specific pensioners will receive at least 50% of their proportional increase in 2026. From late 2026, with the January 2027 pension, they will receive 100% regardless of personal differences.
The biggest beneficiaries include those with zero personal differences, those with small differences now covered by increases, and new pensioners after 2019 without personal differences.
Specifically, beneficiaries include pensioners with benefits up to 1,200 euros and remaining differences up to 55 euros, those with differences of 100 to 150 euros who will receive half the increase in 2026, as well as former OAEE pensions with differences up to 450 euros, who will see a real increase for the first time.
Finally, January 2026 pensions will also incorporate the reduction in tax withholding due to the new tax scale taking effect from January 1, 2026.
