Four days earlier, following intervention by Kyriakos Mitsotakis, 1,358,066 pensioners will receive the permanent €250 benefit. For couples with annual income up to €26,000, the benefit will be paid to both, bringing the total support to €500.
Meanwhile, next Friday the rent allowance enhancement will be distributed, reaching up to €800, to more than 1,000,000 beneficiaries.
Read: €250 benefit: Payments begin, who qualifies – What applies for rent refund and pensions (Video)
These measures, with a total estimated value exceeding €600 million, are part of -as the prime minister emphasized- a broader income support framework worth €2.5 billion, which will be implemented over the coming months and will benefit more than 5 million citizens. The package includes interventions that increase disposable income, such as reductions in wage labor burdens, new salary and pension increases, gradual abolition of personal difference, support for uniformed personnel, as well as the new economic support framework for households and vulnerable groups. With January pensions, approximately 2,500,000 pensioners will receive additional increases, while those who still maintain personal difference will receive for the first time in years an increase equal to 50% of the increase that those without personal difference will see.
1. It is noted that beneficiaries of the €250 benefit which is estimated to correspond to a total fund of over €330,000,000, are e-EFKA pensioners who received main old-age or survivor pensions during September of each reference year (private and public sector pensioners, military personnel, etc.), under the following age condition: They must have completed their 65th year of age by December 31 of the year preceding the year of grant. Specifically for 2025, beneficiaries will be those who completed their 65th year of age during 2024 (born up to 31/12/1959). Also, beyond the above age criterion, to qualify for the €250 benefit one must, according to the same provision of Law 5217/2025, cumulatively meet the following income and asset criteria:
- Their total annual household income, regardless of source, taxable and exempt, actual and presumptive, must not exceed for each previous tax year the amount of €14,000 for unmarried and €26,000 for married or civil union partners and
- The total value of real estate property of the obligated person, spouse or civil union partner and dependent children must not exceed, based on the ENFIA administrative determination act of each reference year, the amount of €200,000 for unmarried and €300,000 for married or civil union partners. It is emphasized that the annual financial support of €250 is tax-free, non-transferable and unseizable by the State or third parties, by derogation from any contrary provision, is not bound and is not offset against certified debts to the tax administration and the State in general, NPDDs, local authorities and their legal entities, insurance funds or credit institutions. Also it is not subject to any fee, contribution or other withholding in favor of the State or e-EFKA. The €250 benefit will not be received by the following groups of citizens:
– those receiving main pension and are under 65 years old (must have completed 65th year of age by 31/12/2024),
– pensioners who have large personal difference which is counted in their annual income,
– working pensioners, as income from new employment is calculated in their annual income, which with the income “cutoff” denies the benefit grant.
– those who received back payments in 2024, as any amount is counted in their annual income, which with the income “cutoff” denies the benefit grant,
– pensioners receiving early and not final main pension in September 2025 as well as: long-term unemployed, single-parent families, KEA beneficiaries, child benefit beneficiaries and widows, orphans and women with reduced pensions under 65 years old.
2. On Friday, November 28, approximately 1,000,000 households, pensioners and students living in rental properties will receive the refund of one rent payment for 2024. The amount reaches up to €800, increased by €50 for each dependent child, while the total budget is expected to exceed €300,000,000. The refund concerns rent for primary or student residence and constitutes permanent government policy that will be paid every November without application, provided that income and asset criteria are met. Beneficiaries for rent refund are those who declare the lease to the Tax Office and meet specific income and asset criteria:
- Unmarried: Annual income up to €20,000.
- Couples: Annual income up to €28,000, plus €4,000 for each child.
- Single-parent families: Annual income up to €31,000, with increase for each child beyond the first.
- Real estate property: For unmarried, must not exceed €120,000, with €20,000 increase for each additional household member.
