A new wave of retroactive pension payments ranging from €5,500 to €13,500 is set to arrive during the August–September two-month period from EFKA (Greece’s Social Security Authority) for 400,000 pensioners. The payments stem both from court rulings on cuts to supplementary pensions and holiday bonuses, and from pension recalculations. In total, more than 350,000 pensioners are at various stages of the process, with refund amounts reaching — including interest — up to €7,500 gross. At the same time, a second wave of retroactive payments concerns approximately 50,000 pensioners who may receive amounts of up to €13,500, due to the recalculation of their pensions using increased replacement rates for those with more than 30 years of insurance contributions.
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In detail:
The picture taking shape at eEFKA reveals three main categories of pensioners:
- The first involves approximately 20,000 pensioners who have already received retroactive payments. These payments primarily relate to court rulings that were recently issued and finalized, awarding refunds for cuts to supplementary pensions and holiday bonuses.
- The second category numbers approximately 150,000 pensioners. Their cases have already been heard in court, but the rulings have not yet been finalized and served to eEFKA. Once a ruling is formally served to the authority, the retroactive payment process is estimated to be completed within approximately three months.
- The third and largest category includes approximately 200,000 pensioners whose cases have not yet been heard in court. For these individuals, the wait is expected to be considerably longer, with first payments projected — according to current estimates — for 2027.
Pensioners’ legal claims have been filed primarily through group lawsuits, each involving approximately 50 individuals. As a result, the 200,000 pensioners still awaiting a court hearing correspond to around 4,000 group lawsuits. The 150,000 pensioners whose cases have already been heard but are awaiting finalization of the rulings are covered by approximately 3,000 group lawsuits.
The retroactive payments relate to the well-known 11-month period from June 10, 2015 to May 12, 2016. This is the period between the publication of the first Council of State ruling — which deemed the pension cuts under Laws 4051 and 4093 of 2012 unlawful — and the publication of the Katrougalos Law (Law 4387/2016). The amounts vary significantly depending on the pension fund and the level of the pension. Indicatively, excluding interest:
- IKA (main social insurance fund): from €410 to €2,372.
- Public utility companies and banks: from €1,111 to €4,004.
- Public sector: from €727 to €2,820.
- Other supplementary pension funds: from €668 to €2,399.
- NAT (seafarers’ pension fund): from €503 to €1,985.
A separate issue concerns the fate of approximately 800,000 pensioners who did not pursue legal action. For these individuals, there is currently no equivalent legal claim process; however, the question of equal treatment with those who filed lawsuits and prevailed has been raised. One possible solution would be the payment of a lump sum, indicatively in the range of €600–€700, as partial compensation for the cuts applied during the disputed 11-month period.
The issue of retroactive payments for holiday bonuses on the main pension for public sector pensioners also remains unresolved. The position of the Court of Auditors following the ruling of the Supreme Special Court (AED) — which reaffirmed the finding of unconstitutional pension and bonus cuts during the June 2015–May 2016 period — is expected to be decisive. The central question is whether the repayment of the holiday bonus, amounting to up to €800, will apply to all public sector pensioners or only to those who have filed legal appeals.
In the case of the Pensioners’ Solidarity Contribution (EAS), however, the situation is different. Retroactive payments for the refund of this levy — which was ruled unconstitutional for a period of 23 months — are being paid to those who have pursued legal action. EAS refunds can reach up to €8,556, and it is estimated that approximately 10,000 lawsuits filed by public sector pensioners, primarily from special pay scales, remain pending.
Second wave of payments: court-ordered retroactive pension settlements
Alongside the court-ordered retroactive payments, a second wave of payments is coming for approximately 50,000 pensioners. These pensioners may be entitled to retroactive amounts of up to €13,500, as they retired after May 2016 and have more than 30 years of insurance contributions. Payments are expected to begin gradually from the end of September and continue in the following months as recalculations are completed. The group includes insured individuals from both the public and private sectors, as well as self-employed persons who were subsequently insured through public utility company and bank pension funds.
Pending cases
Approximately 10,000 pensioners who retired after May 2016 remain in a state of uncertainty, with many unaware that they are entitled to a higher pension and retroactive payments. Despite having more than 30 years of insurance contributions and being covered under the provisions of Law 4670/2020, the necessary recalculation has not been completed. In some cases, a portion of the retroactive payment has been disbursed, but the corresponding increase has not yet been incorporated into the monthly pension. In other cases, the pension increase has been recorded, but the retroactive payment remains pending. The most complex cases involve insured individuals with hazardous-work stamps, or those with successive, dual, or parallel insurance coverage. Under the Vroútsis Law, pensioners with more than 30 years of insurance are entitled to improved replacement rates. For 31 years of contributions, the increase to the contributory pension reaches 1.08%, while for 40 years it amounts to 7.2%.
Originally published in the newspaper “Apogevmatini.”
