By S. Papapetros
Disbursement of September’s supplementary pensions is due to begin on Friday with the second and biggest wave of cuts applied amid a recalculation of all auxiliary social security benefits in the country.
The first cuts in supplementary pensions were implemented in August, with 65,000 beneficiaries seeing a small figure in their bank account.
The second wave of supplementary pension cuts is expected to affect 160,000 beneficiaries, with the average reductions between 10 and 12 percent. All total, roughly 225,000 beneficiaries out of the 1.2 million that receive supplementary social security benefits, will see a decrease.
The biggest “losers” in the latest round of spending cuts are people who retired from banks and state utilities, with reductions of between 25 to 30 percent. The specific “caste” of wage-earners in Greece traditionally enjoyed earlier retirement and higher monthly benefits, both in terms of primary social security and supplementary pension payments.
As previously reported by “N”, reductions are imposed when primary and supplementary pensions together exceed 1,300 euros a month (1,120 net).
The measure, part of the leftist government’s efforts to meet memorandum-mandated fiscal targets, is projected to save 140 to 150 million euros on a yearly basis.
