Only pensioners who win judgments will receive backdated reductions in supplementary pensions, as well as gifts and allowances for principals and ancillaries. This is provided for by the decision of the State Council, and this is what the government must implement, eliminating the possibility of further reimbursement.

The issue has been “resolved in the courts,” financial officials are told, pointing out that the government has reached the limits of the country’s fiscal capacity by extending a Council of Europe decision in the summer of 2020 to cut basic pensions. , not only to those who turned, but also to those who did not turn to justice. They are now making it clear that there is no such difference, given that over the course of 2023, pensioners will benefit threefold from increases that will apply for the first time in 12 years, the elimination of the emergency solidarity contribution and the retroactive payment of the 4th contribution as a result of the recalculation of pensions. .

Yesterday, Minister of Labor Kostis Hatzidakis confirmed that since the summer of 2020 it has become clear that the budget and the economy cannot withstand the coverage of those pensioners who have not applied to the court for additional benefits and gifts, who in practice also agree with his recent decision. “CE justified the government,” said the Minister of Labor.

Speaking on the “Greece Hour” program on Open TV, Mr. Hatsidakis characteristically mentioned that the government implemented the decision of the Council of Ministers of the summer of 2020 regarding the cuts in basic – auxiliary pensions and gifts, extending it to pensioners who had no appeals to the court , for basic pensions.

It should be noted that the total cost of backdating the amounts corresponding to reductions in additional pensions, as well as gifts and benefits in basic and additional, in the 11 months from June 2015 to May 2016 alone, exceeds 2.5 billion euros (723 million for backdated aids and 1.875 billion for public and private sector gifts).

A year-and-a-half long wait for a Supreme Court ruling made it into practice to close last July a large chapter of a retrospective court thriller, retroactively awarding sums from the reduction of ancillary pensions and from the cancellation of gifts to pensioners, only to those who applied to the courts before July 31, 2020 of the year in which the provision was adopted, according to which the state paid retroactively the reduction in basic pensions. Thus, there was a special provision under which claims for additional benefits and gifts were amortized. According to experts, there are about 400 thousand pensioners, but the first estimates of the Ministry of Labor speak of less than 250 thousand.

At the same time, the Council of Europe Plenary leaves a window open for appeals from low-income pensioners who had a basic and additional pension of less than 1,000 euros in 2012, since they did not receive retroactively from the reduction of basic pensions in 2020. and therefore has not lost the right to claim retroactive additional pensions and gifts. Be careful. Because the 5-year cap rule applies, low-income retirees who didn’t file an appeal by the end of 2021 can now not claim the amount of gifts they lost in 2012.