Alternate Social Insurance minister Dimitris Stratoulis sent figures concerning Greek pensions to Greece’s Embassy in Berlin. Data shows that the average main pension in Greece grosses 664.69 euros per month with actual money even less once taxes are taken out.
Stratoulis pointed out that Greek Statistics Agency ELSTAT’s data shows that 44.8% of Greek pensioners receive pensions under the country’s poverty line, endangering 1,189,396 of the country’s total 2,654,784 pensioners.
60% of pensioners earn less than 700 euros per month after taxes, while disability pensions do not exceed 250-540 euros per month and are in many cases held from disabled people with as much as 80% disability rates.
Despite a great deal of media focus on Greek early pensions and international media cries that Greeks retire at 40, the truth is that 89.4% of old-age pensioners are over 61 years.
The figures were sent in response to a discussion currently taking place at the German Bundestag.
Stratoulis pointed out how pensions in Greece have already been cut by 44.2-48% with significant annual reductions of up to 16.9% for pensions under 1,000 euros due to the abolition of the 13th and 14th pensions that gave some respite to Greece’s elderly.
The figures show that pensioners are already in dire straits as a result of the crisis and that demands to slice pensions even further were unrealistic.
Not included in the letter, but just as noteworthy is the fact that Greek pensioners have an average waiting rate of 4 years – apparently living on savings – after retirement before their pensions are issued.
