Pensioners demonstrate over supplementary pension reductions

Protest scheduled for 10am

Pensioners have scheduled a demonstration at the National Resistance square (Ethnikis Antistaseos) in Athens, at 10am Thursday, protesting against the cuts they suffered in their supplementary pensions due to the new law introduced by Minister of Labour George Katrougalos. The president of the IKA pension Fund, Dimos Koumpouris, said they had incurred cuts in their supplementary pensions, their main pensions, while he claimed they would soon lose more money from the scrapping of the special solidarity benefit (EKAS). “Not to mention all the cuts in social spending, healthcare, medicines and the medical tests”, he said. 250,000 pensioners saw a large portion of their ancillary pensions cut on November 1, due to the new law, which retroactively withholds sums from their pensions, taking effect. According to the law, the minimum retention on supplementary pensions is set to 50 euros, while those hardest hit are the pensioners in the lowest bracket, who incurred up to 50% loss in their ancillary incomes. After the readjustment a pensioner who received 190 euros will now be getting 94.27 euros gross. Nearly 120,000 pensioners have seen between 100 and 200 euros disappear in their ancillary pensions.