Social Security

Greek fiscal targets will not be met unless deep cuts are made to pensions, even those that are lower than 1,000 euros per month.

Reforms to social security funds are sowing the seeds of panic to beneficiaries. The Labor Ministry has yet to provide its conclusions regarding the future for Greek pensioners, but there are a number of issues up in the air. These include:

– Pension rates, the new index to be created and the size of the slashes that are unavoidable

Greek Deputy Labor and Social Security Minister Tassos Petropoulos left open the possiblity of lifting the retirement age in Greece to over 67 years in a circular that outlines a number of changes for those retiring after July 1, 2015.

A new social security plan published by Greece’s newspaper To Vima refers to a scheme that aims to merge insurance funds. This new plan has been submitted to the Employment Ministry and applies to all people insured from 1992 onwards.

Greece’s creditors are eyeing further slashes to already butchered pensions that have been scissored during previous bailout deals. IMF Chief Delia Velculescu – obsessed with further cuts to Greece’s low pensions – spearheads the plan for social security reforms that include pension cuts of as much as 30%.

Greece: Prior Actions

Policy Commitments and Actions to be taken in consultation with EC/ECB/IMF staff:

1. 2015 supplementary budget and 2016-19 MTFS[1]

A man living in the eastern province of Erzurum has finally proven he is alive after he was mistakenly listed as dead by Turkey's main social security service provider, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on July 5.

Social security fund revenues showed a significant shortfall in the first four months of the year, according to data presented on Monday in Parliament by Alternate Minister for Social Security Dimitris Stratoulis. Compared with the original calculations, the revenues of the pension funds were trailing their target by 368 million euros at the end of April.

Average nominal net wage income in Romania was RON 1,857 in April 2015, up 1.5 per cent on a monthly basis and 7 per cent from April 2014, according to data released on Monday by the National Statistics Institute (INS).

The April 2105 average gross wage income was RON 2,564, up 1.4 per cent from March 2015.

Registered unemployment fell by 3.18 percent in April, the Manpower Employment Organization (OAED) announced on Tuesday.
In its regular monthly report, OAED said the number of registered jobless individuals in the country not actively seeking a employment fell by 21.7 percent last month in comparison to the previous month.