What the Deputy Minister of Labor said about the increase for pensioners and the increase in insurance contributions for freelancers
The Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Security, Panos Tsakloglou, spoke to the Star about the aspects of the new insurance bill, the increases in pensions next year, but also about the personal difference allowance.
Specifically, regarding the employment of pensioners, Mr. Tsakloglou noted that the withholding of 30% of the pension of working pensioners is abolished and a non-remunerative resource will be introduced in favor of the EFKA. In fact, he clarified that because they work, they pay insurance contributions, which will increase their pension when they stop working. Therefore, the pension they will receive later will be higher than the one they receive today.
Asked about the personal difference allowance, the Deputy Minister of Labor replied: “About 750,000 pensioners will receive the personal difference allowance. However, we cannot yet accurately calculate the percentage of the pension increase, as this is directly related to the estimates of the final draft budget, which will be submitted to Parliament in the coming days. The rate of increase is half of the sum of the inflation rate and the rate of economic growth for this year.
With the development of things so far, the increase for pensioners will be close to 3%, but we must not forget that every time the final figures come out, the adjustment will also take place in relation to the increase of the previous year. Last year, an increase of 7.75% was given, but, based on ELSTAT’s final estimates of the growth rate and inflation in 2022, the increase should have been 0.15% lower. This difference will be included in this year’s increase rate.
All low pensioners will either get an increase or the personal difference allowance. Whether there will be any additional support not only for pensioners, but for the entire population, this is a question of budget strength. We have already said that, for those who have a personal difference and the sum of their pensions is below 1,600 euros, some aid will be given, which will be scaled inversely according to the amount of the pension”.
When asked about the possibility of “freezing” the increase in insurance contributions for self-employed professionals, following the reactions that have taken place, Mr. Tsakloglou underlined that, at the moment, the vast majority of self-employed people pay lower insurance contributions from the contributions paid by an unskilled worker, who is paid the minimum wage. “Therefore, this argument does not make sense,” he commented.
Regarding the reduction of insurance contributions, the Deputy Minister of Labor stated that the reduction of insurance contributions by 4.4 percentage points is one of the main factors that contributed to the reduction of unemployment and the creation of hundreds of new jobs during the previous four years. As he said, according to government planning, a further reduction of insurance contributions by one unit is foreseen in two installments: the first reduction will take place in 2025 and the second in 2027.
