The draft bill titled “Improving the Occupational Safety Framework: More Opportunities for Workers and Businesses” was presented today, Tuesday, by the Minister of Labor and Social Security, Niki Kerameos, at a joint press conference with the Deputy Minister of Labor, Anna Efthymiu, and the Secretary General of Social Security, Konstantinos Tsagaropoulos.
The purpose of the bill is to improve the existing framework for occupational insurance, making it simpler, more functional, more protective, and more attractive to workers and businesses.
“We are creating a more modern and reliable supplementary insurance framework in addition to the first pillar of social security, e-EFKA. We are supporting workers by giving them the option of additional pension protection. We are strengthening businesses by providing them with additional benefits and incentives.
We are strengthening the national economy by boosting household savings and creating new jobs in the financial sector. “We are building today for better protection and better retirement prospects in the years to come,” the minister stated.
The social security system consists of three pillars. The first concerns mandatory insurance and constitutes the main and strongest pillar of the system, with e-EFKA and TEKA as its primary agencies. The second pillar includes occupational insurance (Occupational Insurance Funds and group occupational pension insurance policies), which offer additional pension benefits. The third pillar concerns private insurance through individual insurance policies.
The main objective of the proposed bill is to strengthen the second pillar by creating a modern and competitive framework for supplemental pension savings, which will allow for greater flexibility, strengthen the protection of the system, and make occupational pension plans more attractive.
The three pillars of the bill
The bill is structured around three pillars:
First pillar: Flexibility and simplification of the operation of Occupational Insurance Funds (TEA)
The bill provides for the introduction of Open Occupational Insurance Funds to facilitate access for smaller businesses and self-employed professionals. Open TEAs will be licensed by the Bank of Greece and will be able to quickly and easily accept new businesses, collective bodies, and labor unions without prior regulatory approval. The goal is for TEAs to operate more quickly, transparently, and effectively without compromising oversight and worker protection.
Second pillar: More attractive occupational insurance for workers and businesses
The bill provides for the rationalization of the tax framework by improving tax incentives, decoupling contributions from years of insurance coverage, and linking them to the insured person’s age. At the same time, the tax penalty for employees who decide to enroll in occupational insurance at an older age is abolished, while the TEA are given the option to offer health plans. Furthermore, a new product is being introduced, the Group Occupational Retirement Insurance Product (OAPES), which will be issued by insurance companies and will provide protection for the rights of insured individuals equivalent to that offered by TEA programs.
Third pillar: Strengthening the protection of insured persons
The bill provides for the full portability of insured persons’ rights, so that a change in employment or professional status does not result in the loss or erosion of established rights, according to the ministry. It also introduces across-the-board measures to enhance transparency, including requirements for OAPES to register in a public registry, rules for the proper distribution of products, prevention of conflicts of interest, and an obligation to periodically inform insured individuals about the performance of their investments.
Finally, it ensures the protection of the unemployed by allowing them to remain in the occupational insurance system, upgrades the investment framework for providers, and guarantees the right of insured individuals to receive information.
The new framework for occupational insurance brings significant benefits to all stakeholders. For policyholders, it boosts retirement income, facilitates access to supplemental coverage, ensures the portability of benefits, protects self-employed individuals, and provides greater transparency.
For businesses, it serves as an incentive to attract and retain employees, enables employers to provide benefits through collective bargaining agreements, strengthens employer branding and corporate social responsibility, allows for the management of investment capital, and makes the framework operational for smaller businesses.
For the economy, it accumulates investment capital, channels liquidity into the market, preventing capital flight; it strengthens long-term household savings; it creates new jobs in the financial sector; and it leverages the system to enhance pension adequacy.