Approximately 100,000 retirees are expecting significant back payments that can reach up to €16,800 from their supplementary pensions. The issue concerns pensions issued after May 2016 under the Katrougalos law, where beneficiaries had paid contributions above 6% for their supplementary insurance.
Read: Back payments for 11 months up to €5,842: New court decisions for retirees
Legal framework for supplementary pensions
The Katrougalos law (Law 4387/2016) and the subsequent Vroutsis law (Law 4670/2020) clearly stipulate that insured individuals are entitled to an increase in their supplementary pension for each additional contribution unit they paid. Specifically, for every 1% additional contribution to supplementary insurance funds until 2014, an increase is calculated with a coefficient of 0.075% for each year of increased contributions.
Despite the clarity of the legislation, ETEAEP, the supplementary insurance branch of EFKA, has not implemented the provision for tens of thousands of supplementary pensions issued from May 2016 onwards.
Evidence of non-implementation of the law
A document from the Ombudsman confirms that for supplementary pensions with increased contributions, EFKA and ETEAEP are obligated to add the increases and pay the corresponding back payments. A characteristic case involves a retiree who, despite proving with insurance stamp records that they paid 8% contributions instead of 6%, received no increase. The competent EFKA office responded in writing that no payment of increased contributions was evident, ignoring the evidence presented.
Timeline of owed back payments
The period for which back payments are owed on supplementary pensions is estimated between 2017 and 2022. From 2023, ETEAEP began to include the increases in supplementary pensions that had contributions above 6%. Retirees from funds with total contributions (insured and employer) above 6% must take action to claim their rights.
Actions retirees need to take
Eligible retirees can follow two basic actions:
- Submit remedial applications to EFKA-ETEAEP, requesting a recalculation of the supplementary pension based on increased contributions
- Appeal to courts to claim an increase in supplementary pension with back payments, if they paid increased contributions that were not credited
Appeals have already been filed by National Bank retirees, who despite contributions of approximately 12%, received supplementary pensions calculated with 6% contributions, without the corresponding increase.
Risk of claim prescription
A critical parameter, according to the newspaper “Eleftheros Typos,” is the 5-year prescription of claims. To avoid prescription, a simple objection to ETEAEP with a protocol number is sufficient. Beneficiaries have the right to submit a written request for recalculation of the supplementary pension, obtaining a protocol number to freeze the prescription.
Prerequisites and checks before taking action
Before any action, retirees must verify three basic elements: first, that the contribution for supplementary insurance in their fund was above 6%, second, that they paid increased contributions until 2014, and third, to check the decision granting the supplementary pension.
If the decision states that increased contributions were calculated, then they must verify whether they received the corresponding back payments upon granting. For example, a supplementary pension of €400 with a 0.07% increase paid 12 months after the application should have been accompanied by back payments of €4,800 gross.
Calculation of additional supplementary pension
The formula for calculating the increase is: Pensionable earnings from 2002 to 2014 × years of increased contribution payments × additional contribution × 0.075%. A characteristic example involves a retiree with a 9% supplementary contribution instead of 6%, who retired at 62 in 2020 with 30 years of insurance and pensionable earnings of €1,870. They received a supplementary pension of €184 but are entitled to an increase of €101, calculated as: €1,870 × 24 × 3 × 0.075% = €101.
