Up to four months’ rent returned to tenants, a €130-a-month increase in income for families with three children, an additional €1,000 to €8,000 for each child in a large family, increases of between €150 and €400 in benefits, €400 for pensioners, the abolition of the personal difference and increases in all pensions are just some of the 14 new measures and benefits launching from next Friday through to the festive period. These measures are being activated during the final 100 days of the year, are being implemented for the first time, are permanent and aim to put more money in the pockets of more than 2.5 million beneficiaries.

Who will receive extra benefits

The total amount of the new measures announced at the Thessaloniki International Fair but not yet legislated exceeds €600 million for 2026. At the same time, measures that have already been legislated but have not yet been paid to beneficiaries are coming into effect, amounting to €940 million this year. Thus, the total value of the benefits being activated before the end of the year exceeds €1.5 billion.

The 100-day timetable provides for successive payments and measures to be rolled out in waves, from the end of the month through to Christmas. Specifically:

1. Next Friday, a double rent refund will be paid to doctors, nurses and teachers serving in the regions, retroactively for the 2024 tax year. The beneficiaries will share €16 million, in addition to the €245 million that will be paid in total on 30 November to all approximately 1 million eligible tenants.

2. On 30 November, the regular rent refund for leases in 2025 will be paid. However, doctors, nurses and teachers serving in the regions will, from this year and every November thereafter, receive double the refund (€32 million in total, compared with the €16 million they received last year). Together with the amounts they will receive exceptionally this month as arrears for 2024, they will receive over two months an amount equivalent to up to four monthly rents.

3. On 30 November, the increased annual benefit of €400 will also begin to be paid to pensioners, people with disabilities and uninsured elderly people. Some 2.2 million beneficiaries will receive €150 or €400 more compared with November 2025, or almost €400 million in additional payments compared with last year.

4. At the end of December, the increased January 2027 pensions will be paid early, with an increase of at least 2.6%, which will be given to everyone without offsetting the personal difference. Thus, during the Christmas period in December – and every month thereafter – pensioners will see €62.5 million more in increases compared with what they currently receive.

5. At the end of December, the reduced tax withholding for public-sector employees and pensioners with three dependent children will also begin, as their January salaries are paid early at that time. In total, 53,000 employees and pensioners with three children will see a monthly increase in their pay due to reduced withholding, amounting to €7 million per month, or an additional €130 on average each month.

For example, a public-sector employee with three children and an income of €20,000 had a tax bill of €620. The tax is eliminated and they gain €51.5 net from the first month due to reduced withholding. For an income of €30,000, the tax falls from €2,820 to €1,020, resulting in a monthly gain of €150. Those public-sector employees or pensioners who do not see the increase in December – if payroll officials do not manage to complete the processing in time – will receive it retroactively, doubled, in the next payroll in January, together with private-sector employees.

6. From the end of December and every year thereafter, automatic indexation will now apply to disability benefits paid by OPEKA and e-EFKA. The first increase will be 2.6%, as with pensions. Here too, in the event of a delay in processing, the increase will appear doubled in January. The benefit from the first month of implementation – and every month thereafter – for 218,000 beneficiaries amounts to €4 million. The average annual benefit for 2027 is estimated at €220 per beneficiary.

7. The birth benefit for large families is increased by an additional €1,000 for each child. Until now, €3,500 was paid for the fourth child, with no further increase for each additional child. It will now increase to €4,500 for four dependent children, €5,500 for five children, €6,500 for six children, and so on. The benefit will be paid retroactively for children born from 1 January 2026 onwards. For example, for the 14th child born to a family in Kavala in July, the benefit was €3,500, but it is being increased to €14,500. Under the new rules, the family will receive an additional €11,000 retroactively. In total, 2,500 large families will receive an additional €4 million this year.

8. For families with children, the subsidy provided through vouchers for nurseries and childcare centres is increased by 10% from this year, the income thresholds are expanded to €37,000, while families with three or more children will receive it without means-testing criteria.

9. The 50% reduction in survivors’ pensions after the three-year period is abolished. Beneficiaries will recover between €400 and €800.

10. The payment of the national pension is reinstated for beneficiaries receiving a double pension (from the same entitlement and due to death), with a benefit of approximately €400 net for each person.

11. The “Prevent” programme is being extended beyond the end of the Recovery Fund, which expired on 31 August. From this month, new referrals for free screening tests for cardiovascular diseases and cancer are being issued using national funds. The measure concerns 6.9 million citizens, at a cost of €60 million this year.

12. The “Personal Assistant” programme for people with disabilities is also being made permanent using national funds after the end of the Recovery and Resilience Facility. The platform opened on 26 August and applications can be submitted until 27 November. The monthly value of the benefit reaches up to €1,939, depending on the beneficiary’s level of need. The extension of the programme provides €20 million in benefits to beneficiaries by the end of the year, and a further €40 million every year thereafter.

13. Within the same framework, the semi-independent living programme for young people leaving child protection units will continue, at a cost of €10 million per year.

14. From 1 November, the refund of the special consumption tax on agricultural diesel will begin to be made directly at the pump, abolishing the old system of applications and subsequent tax refunds to eligible farmers.