By S. Papapetros
A stratospheric figure of 33.6 billion euros is owed to Greece’s social security funds in terms of withheld contributions, according to the most recent figures recorded by the relevant labor ministry.
According to an exclusive report by “N”, roughly 90 percent of the amount is owed to the two main funds: 19.5 billion euros to IKA, the biggest pension fund in the country, and OAEE, a successor fund that covers self-employed professionals and merchants, 10.5 billion euros.
In a distant third place is the farmers’ pension fund, OGA, which is owed 1.4 billion euros in back contributions.
Of the massive figure, roughly half, 16.3 billion euros, has been bumped to a new state agency tasked with collecting social security contributions, known by its Greek-language acronym of KEAO.
Besides arrears owed by private wage-earners, self-employed professionals, farmers, businesses and others, even public sector entities are listed with debts to pension and health care funds.
Of the 33.6-billion-euro figure, 21.6 billion euros in arrears appear after 2009, the advent of the current and mostly unabated economic crisis.
As expected, the government-appointed leaderships at the pension funds consider that the situation is extremely precarious and worse than previously estimated.
According to information published by “N”, initial forecasts of arrears to social security funds by the end of 2015 ranged from between 26 to 27 billion euros, although the final tally was higher by six billion euros.
