The government’s plan to boost incomes will be set out this evening by the Prime Minister from the Vellidio in Thessaloniki. A road map with a four-year horizon, unveiled in the final stretch before elections.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis may not have wanted to give away any news linked to tonight’s announcements at the Vellidio during his customary briefing with journalists yesterday, yet the package he is set to unveil, built around the logic of a four-year road map to boost incomes for practically every category of citizen, will be a key card he plays as the country enters the final stretch before elections. The Prime Minister will set out, month by month and year by year, his plan to strengthen incomes as a buffer against high prices and the rising cost of living.

Mr Mitsotakis may not have revealed, or finally decided, exactly when the ballot boxes will be set up, but in any case he will go into the election with the programme of benefits and positive measures already in full swing. After all, last year’s Thessaloniki International Fair showed officials at Maximos Mansion that positive measures only start to register with the public after a time lag, mainly from November onwards, once the customary payments to pensioners and tenants begin, continuing through December and January.

According to government officials, the new package of measures is aimed at the population as a whole: employees and pensioners, the self-employed and farmers, and families in particular. These are measures designed to dovetail with this year’s tax reform, so that together they deliver the greatest possible benefit for citizens.

The minimum wage and the public sector

Starting with the minimum wage and the public sector, Mr Mitsotakis is expected, according to reports, to present a “trick”: a double increase in the minimum wage during 2027. The first rise will take effect on 1 April 2027, with the second coming towards the end of the year so that it applies from 1 January 2028.

From 2028 onwards, the minimum wage will no longer be set by decision of the Cabinet, but on the basis of a specific algorithm that will take various parameters into account.

The rise in the minimum wage will feed through into the salaries and allowances due to public sector employees. Civil servants will also receive, across the board, an extra allowance in the region of 500 euros (gross), paid once a year in place of a 13th salary.

Pensioners

Pensioners are a crucial group for New Democracy, and one that also stands to gain on a larger scale. Beyond the abolition of the personal difference, which will make the roughly 3% increase in January pensions almost universal, the scope of the allowance paid every November will be significantly widened, starting this year. The allowance is estimated to exceed 400 euros, approaching the level of the national pension (446 euros), meaning this benefit too will function as something like half a 13th pension, since the pool of beneficiaries will be decisively broadened to cover the vast majority of this social group.

Farmers

According to converging reports, this year’s surprise measure at the Fair will concern farmers, a group with whom the government has clashed since the OPEKEPE scandal (the agricultural subsidies agency at the centre of a corruption case) erupted. As protothema.gr has revealed, the government is set to move ahead with a substantial boost to farming incomes through a reduction in the tax scale. Sources close to the matter estimate that the relief will cover a large proportion of existing producers. In addition, tax-free diesel at the pump will come into effect from 1 November, alongside a scheme for favourable agricultural loans.

Families

On the family income side, beyond the rise in the minimum wage and the prospect of a small cut in social security contributions (0.5%), the government is favouring two measures. One concerns families with three children, who are expected to be effectively put on an equal footing with large families, with the government thereby meeting a long-standing demand.

There is also expected to be a “nest egg” scheme for families with newborn children. In practice, the government will offer an additional benefit built around the idea of savings, a measure that is both symbolic and substantive. After all, last year saw the rollout of the major tax reform designed around families with children, meaning those with more children came out as the biggest winners.

Housing

According to reports, the government’s planning includes a “My Home III” scheme, which will come with a “dowry” of around 2 billion euros, combining national and European funds. The programme will evidently run with updated criteria, potentially affecting both the income thresholds and the criteria for properties eligible for purchase with a loan.