The Court, with its decision 593-4/2024, includes the debtors of the Funds who do not establish the right to retire, due to debts, in the same category as the uninsured elderly who are entitled to the OPECA welfare pension, the full amount of which amounts to 399 .54 euros for 2024.
According to the interpretation made by the SC in the relevant provision of Law 4093/2012, the condition “that they themselves do not receive or are not entitled to a pension from any social security institution”, which applies to the uninsured, in order to receive the allowance from the OPECA also covers persons who do not receive or are not entitled to a pension due to debts.
As stated in the decision, the condition for receiving a pension from uninsured seniors, which is that they do not receive or are not entitled to a pension from any social security institution, also applies when the interested parties are insured and cannot receive a pension from the institution them, due to the fact that they have debts from insurance contributions that exceed the minimum limit of debts set by law that are set off or withheld from the pension and which they are unable to pay.
The limit for offsetting debts with a pension is up to 30,000 euros for EFKA insured persons with debts from employer and individual contributions, as well as from fictitious years, and up to 6,000 euros for debts to the OGA.
The decision of the CoE means that debtors with debts of up to 30,000 euros (EFKA) and up to 6,000 euros (OGA) are entitled to a pension, as their debts are offset against the pension they will receive, while if their debts exceed 30,000 euros or 6,000 euros , respectively, are entitled to receive the uninsured’s pension from OPECA.
Until recently, the competent services of OPEKA accepted applications for an uninsured pension from debtors who, due to debts, did not receive a regular pension, but recently many of these applications were put on a waiting list under the pretext that the debtors’ marks are sufficient to give them the their regular pension, as long as they settle their debts.
With the decision of the CoE, however, no OEPEKA employee can now obstruct the issuance of an uninsured pension to EFGKA debtors with debts of more than 30,000 euros or 6,000 euros for the OGA.
Thus, those who were insured but do not complete 15 years of paid contributions to receive a normal pension from the EFKA acquire the right to receive the uninsured’s pension granted at the age of 67 based on income criteria.
Debtors with debts of more than 30,000 euros or 6,000 euros (for OGA) can, after the decision of the CoE, submit applications for a pension of 399.54 euros from OPECA, as long as their total annual taxable income, as well as the exempt or taxable with special way does not exceed 4,320 euros and in the case of married couples 8,640 euros. Also, the total taxable value of their immovable property cannot exceed 90,000 euros, while the presumptive objective expenditure of their movable property (passenger cars, M.X. cars or even two-wheelers) cannot exceed the amount of 6,000 euro.
More than 28,000 beneficiaries receive an uninsured person’s pension (28,054 were in December 2023), showing an increase of 52.3% in one year as in December 2022 the benefit was paid to 18,416 beneficiaries.
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