For one more time, Greece took a leading role in setting new standards within the European Union and lowered the poverty line threshold from €6,000 annual income down to €4,608. fixing the threshold at 60 % of national median income
Labor Minister Giorgos Katrougalos told private Skai TV on Wednesday morning, that the National Pension of €384 per month gross has been set according to the EU poverty threshold which is “fixed at 60% of the national median income” – so the EU guideline books.
A day earlier, Katrougalos had heralded that
“In the future, all Greeks will receive pensions under the same rules and all Greeks will be protected from poverty through the institution of national pension.
No Greek will be poor with 384 euro”
The National Pension has been introduced in the context of the Pensions Reform and after the welfare poverty benefit (EKAS) was scrapped under the creditors’ pressure.
“The national pension is a more effective measure than EKAS that was given according to income criteria,” the Labor Minister told Athens News Agency radio.
The National Pension scheme foresees that a basic national pension will be given to all Greeks after the retirement age plus a percentage of the contributions they have paid to pension funds all through their working life.
In the social justice of the new pensions system, those to receive high pensions will receive even higher due to ‘national pension’, those with low pensions due to low wages and years of unemployment will keep receiving peanuts.
Given the economic crisis, the recession and the new habits of the Greek labor market that hire full time employees with wages of €400 maximum €1000 euro, while part0time work contracts rule, you can well imagine the pension heights of the future pensioners.
In surreal Greece, prices for goods and services are at the level of Germany or Sweden, but wages on a downwards trend at the level of Bulgaria or other poor Balkan countries.
Moreover, the number of those over 55 who lost their job in the years of economic crisis are shocking: 148.158 people in 2015, according to Employment Agency (OAED) .
They will hardly find a job again until they reach the retirement age of 67, they will not be able to complete the number of required stamps at private sector pension for a full pension.
I roughly assume that they will not more than a maximum of 400 euro pension (national + IKA fund pension) per month.
But they won’t be poor with 384 euro gross per month….
PS I hear, a new obligatory class will be introduced in Greek schools: How to save money with €384 per month :p
Yes it’s heading that way. Salaries of 500 euros , pensions of 384 euros . The question is, will prices fall enough? I think it will take time . From what I see there are 2 things Greeks refuse to cut from their lives, coffee and cigarettes . i believe the Greek government can help Greeks smoke and thus spend less by enforcing anti smoking legislation. Regarding coffee, I am seeing more and more coffee shops that allow you to sit down and have coffee for 1 euro, unlike the party days where sit down coffee was easily 4 euros (still is in some places) . So it will take time, but prices will continue to fall further as people slowly slowly finish their money under the mattress and are forced to live with their low salaries and not their savings or ‘black money’ as it gets harder and harder to tax evade
I dont know if you really mean what you write, but if, than you dont get it really. You are saying if people stop smoking and only drink a coffee for 1 Euro they can survive on 384 euros? What about Water, Electricity,Healtchcare(that a lot of people cant pay anymore), Food,Taxes(like Enfia),Transportation,Clothing etc. How do you think people can pay all these things with 384 Euros?
Electricity bills and taxes ? Well it seems no one is paying them anyway. Let them block their bank accounts, if your salary / pension is less than 1250 a month they can’t touch your money anyway 🙂
This is just a sad comment.
Why not turn the pensioners into soylent green?
Why does this minister not set the example and live off €384 a month for a while? Or his parents?
Because that’s not communism in Greece 🙂 most ‘communists’ I know here go to private school and pretend to be left, just like Tsipras !