Pension

Greek lawmakers started debating on Tuesday evening a social security bill, which Labor Minister Yiannis Vroutsis describing it as a "watershed" law that will affect current and future generations. 

Earlier, the minister tabled an accompanying actuarial report which he said "proves the [draft] law's viability until 2070."

The rise in the sale of private savings plans in 2019 has been linked to people's increasing realization that the meager pensions provided by the Greek state will not be enough to cover their needs. 

A growing number of depositors - mostly people who are in a mature phase of their professional careers - are investing a part of their savings in private insurance and pension schemes.

The new bill by the Labor Ministry that was tabled on Monday in Parliament creates a new landscape for pensions and social security contributions. The interventions promoted have led to a strong reaction by many unions, which have decided to call a 24-hour strike for today.

There will be no tram, metro, ISAP railway, trolley or bus service Tuesday due to the participation of workers in a 24-hour strike in protest at the government's social security bill.
In a statement on Saturday, the Athens Urban Rail Transport Company (STASY) denounced the new legislation, saying the government has not kept its promise to increase pensions.

The National Social Security Institute (NSSI) has reported that the average insurable earnings in Bulgaria for December 2019 was BGN 1,063.32, said the NSSI press office, Focus News Agency reported.
The average monthly insurable earnings for the period from 01 January 2019 to 31 December 2019 stood at BGN 986,52.

A significant number of entrepreneurs in retail commerce were forced to become employees in the years of the financial crisis, as the reduction in demand - and consequently in sales and profits - resulted in many company closures.

The civil servants' union ADEDY has called a 24-hour strike for February 18 in protest at the conservative government's legislation on pensions which is to go before a vote in Parliament this month.
According to ADEDY, the bill perpetuates austerity measures introduced by governments during the crisis years, including auxiliary pension cuts of up to 50 percent.

The raises and retroactive payments due to recipients of main and auxiliary pensions will be paid out in June. They will be be based on the changes included in the Labor Ministry's draft law, as all 2.8 million main pensions will need to be recalculated after it is passed.

President Klaus Iohannis said on Monday that the idea of the equal tax treatment is "basically true", but in the case of the IT sector, where salaries are exempt from the income tax, the authorities need to take into account the fact that this sector has increased in the past ten years from "something insignificant to 6 per cent of the GDP." The head of state was asked if the tax exemption for