Three benefits from OPEKA (Organization for Welfare Benefits and Social Solidarity) are set to increase in the coming months as part of the family support measures announced by the Prime Minister at TIF:
- The child allowance,
- The housing assistance allowance, and
- The Guaranteed Minimum Income, which already saw an 8% increase in December 2023.
The increase in these three benefits will have a neutral fiscal impact (currently, the total cost is 1.9 billion euros) as many citizens have lost access to these benefits over the past year due to an increase in their incomes.
The increases will be “targeted,” meaning stricter and fairer criteria for granting the benefits to ensure they go to those who truly need them.
New Criteria for Receiving Benefits
Job-seeking will become a key new criterion to prevent beneficiaries from relying solely on benefits, according to senior officials from the Ministry of Finance, who are working on reforms to the benefit policy.
Specifically, for the child allowance, there will be changes to the income brackets, with the most likely scenario being the reduction from three to two brackets, and a strengthening of the lower bracket.
The most significant changes will affect families with three children, who will no longer lose their status after a child becomes an adult. This ensures certain advantages, such as military service exemptions.
The benefits for families with three children will align with those for larger families, particularly in public sector recruitment, student transfers without income criteria, and access to social tourism programs.
Families with three children heard important news from the Prime Minister regarding transfers without income criteria and the increase in the percentage of hires through ASEP (Supreme Council for Civil Personnel Selection),” emphasized the Minister of Social Cohesion and Family, Sofia Zacharaki, noting, “We all understand how important it is to support large families.”
Additionally, as the Prime Minister announced, tax incentives will be introduced for businesses that reward employees for having large families. Starting this year, employers who give bonuses of up to 5,000 euros to their employees will be exempt from taxes, with the exemption increasing for each new birth.
Other Measures to Support Families
Furthermore, vouchers for nurseries will increase to 1,673 (costing 20 million euros), and nursery spots will increase by 20,000.
The Prime Minister also mentioned that the childbirth allowance has already increased to 3,500 euros, and the maternity allowance has been extended to nine months.
Other measures to support families include:
- The abolition of the 15% tax on health insurance for children until they reach adulthood,
- Free fertility checks for women aged 30-35, and
- Simplification of the IVF process through the National Organization for the Provision of Health Services (EOPYY).
In the coming months, the Ministry of Family will launch a campaign on fertility issues, as recent research has shown that young couples are unaware of the scientific facts.
These measures complement other initiatives such as the increase in the tax-free threshold, the reduction of VAT on baby products, the increase in nursery vouchers, childbirth and maternity allowances, reduced working hours for parents, extended school hours, school meals, and the “Neighborhood Nannies” program.
