Five groups of insured Greeks are in danger of having their rights revoked due to pressure by Greece’s international creditors. Changes would affect:

1) Early retirement.

Greece’s partners want the retirement age to be lifted to 67 years. It is believed that 100,000 people have reached the level of retirement but not the age. The Greek government is being forced to shut down “windows” for early retirement for those seeking early retirement, however the government does not want the rules to affect mothers of children who are minors, workers of jobs deemed to be heavy as well as those insured prior to 1983.

2) Minimum-level pensions

Greece’s creditors want a link between the minimum contributions with pension benefits . Today’s low-level pensions are at 486 euros per month, but with the new calculations these levels could drop to 320 euros or 360 euros at the best of terms.

3) Zero-deficit clause

The technical institutions monitoring Greece’s finances want a zero deficit clause that would result in reductions to funds such as the state social security fund IKA, OAEE and ETEA. The measures would lead to 8-15% reductions to supplementary pensions.

4) Lump sum benefits

The government and technical institutions appear to have agreed that the 27-million euros worth of monthly contributions are adequate for 950 lump sum benefits, whereas another 30,000 applications are still in the air.

5) Fund for Pensioners Social Solidarity (EKAS)

The EKAS fund is a thorny issue with restrictions being considered that could result in 60,000 citizens losing this entitlement.