An end to "monkey" benefits with a new digital platform

At least 15 benefits and subsidies (ranging from child and housing allowances to heating, unemployment and disability benefits) provided by the state to millions of citizens, at a cost to the budget of at least 13 billion euros, will be included starting next Thursday in the Benefits and Subsidies Registry, which is launching and will operate on a pilot basis until September 30.

The new unified digital platform will consolidate all benefits received by each citizen, whether they are allowances or subsidies in cash or in kind, with the ultimate goal of enabling the state to know who receives what, and how much, putting a definitive end to “phantom” benefits and double payments.

The new system also aims to:

• More effective monitoring of the fiscal impact of benefits and subsidies.
• To provide information in the context of audit procedures regarding the total benefits and subsidies granted per individual, and:
• The use of comprehensive information on benefits granted per individual for the purpose of auditing the accumulation of benefits and subsidies.

According to the Joint Ministerial Decision signed by Nikos Papathanasis, Thanos Petralias, Dimitris Papastergiou, and Giorgos Pitsilis, the following are included in the Registry:

• All natural persons, including those engaged in business activities, who receive benefits and/or subsidies from the State.
• All benefits, in cash and in kind, and subsidies granted to individuals by public sector entities, which are required to immediately notify the Registry of the establishment of new benefits and subsidies so that they can be included in the digital platform.

All data

For each natural person, the following categories of data and information are maintained in the Registry:

• Beneficiary’s personal information (full name, Tax Identification Number, nationality, date of birth, gender, marital status, number of children, place of residence).
• Beneficiary’s financial information(annual individual taxable income (actual and imputed), data from specific sections of individual income tax returns regarding sources of income or benefits, annual family taxable income, total real estate assets, as determined for the purposes of calculating the Single Property Tax (ENFIA).
• Details of benefits or subsidies (amount of benefit or subsidy due, amount of benefit or subsidy paid or recovered, reporting period of the benefit or subsidy paid or recovered, with distinct markers for start and end dates. In the case of a benefit or subsidy paid as a lump sum and not linked to a specific reference month, then the month of payment of the subsidy, and the date the benefit or subsidy was paid or recovered, must be entered).

Online

The Registry interoperates, through the Interoperability Center of the General Secretariat for Information Systems and Digital Governance (GSISDG), with:

• The Citizens’ Registry of the Ministry of the Interior.
• The Tax Registry of the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE).
• The AADE Income Tax Returns.
• The AADE Real Estate/ENFIA Declarations.
• The National AMKA-EMAS Registry and other registries of IDIKA SA, particularly for obtaining information regarding the number of children, within the meaning of an indirect member.
• The National Citizens’ Communication Registry (EMEP).
• The Registers or Information Systems for benefits and subsidies included in the Registry.
• The User Authorization Information System for Horizontal Public Administration Information Systems of the General Secretariat for Public Administration and Digital Governance (GSPADG) of the Ministry of Digital Governance for the authorization of users of Horizontal Public Administration Information Systems that connect to the platform using “Public Administration Codes.”

Checks

Through the new system, it will be possible to verify whether an individual is receiving multiple benefits that may not be permitted under relevant legislation. For this reason, different levels of access to the Registry are provided.

Certain accredited users will have access only to anonymized statistical data, while in specific cases, agencies or supervisory authorities may be granted limited access to non-anonymized data on natural persons, but only when there is a clear legal basis and a specific supervisory purpose.

What is included

The benefits and subsidies included in the pilot program include:

1. the heating allowance,
2. the allowance for access by preschool-age children, infants, and toddlers to preschool education and care services, and for access by children, adolescents, and persons with disabilities to creative activity services,
3. the child allowance,
4. the birth allowance,
5. foster care allowance,
6. the allowance for mountainous and disadvantaged areas
7. the social solidarity allowance for uninsured elderly people
8. the guaranteed minimum income,
9. the housing allowance,
10. the housing assistance allowance for uninsured elderly people
11. benefits under the “Kalypsi” Program
12. financial assistance for people with disabilities
13. the “Personal Assistant for People with Disabilities” service
14. monthly remuneration for professional caregivers
15. unemployment and long-term unemployment benefits.

Annual mapping

Each year, by March, an annual mapping report on the benefits and subsidies from the previous year will be compiled. The report will include detailed statistics on the amount of benefits, funding agencies, geographic distribution, demographic characteristics of beneficiaries, and the overall fiscal impact of the subsidies.

The Registry’s data is retained for each individual for a period of 15 years. Afterward, it is deleted under the responsibility of the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (IAPR).