Eurostat and UBS provide a different picture of the financial situation of Greek citizens, but the difference is based on the fact that Eurostat refers to incomes, while UBS refers to the wealth of Greeks.
Based on Eurostat data, 87.1% of the Greek population is struggling to make ends meet, which is the highest percentage in the European Union (EU), with Bulgaria second at 77.2% and the European average at 41.6%. In addition, median annual disposable income, adjusted for price differences between EU countries, amounted to 13,612 purchasing power standards (PPS) in 2025 versus 22,630, which was the EU average.
On the other hand, based on UBS wealth data, Greeks appear to be among the 30 wealthiest peoples in the world based on the real estate and movable property (savings, shares, bonds, etc.) they possess.
Greeks rank 30th based on average wealth, with 143 thousand dollars. While based on median per capita wealth, Greece ranks 29th, with 59 thousand dollars, above Germany, which ranks 30th with 53 thousand dollars.
The high per capita wealth is due to the fact that Greeks, during the postwar period, tended to save through ownership of real estate, while most peoples of Europe save through financial instruments (shares, bonds, etc.).
For Greece, a relevant study by the University of Piraeus (2009) estimated that the value of the country's total housing stock amounted to 950 billion euros before the 2008 crisis.
This means that the country's housing stock in 2008, before the major crisis, was approximately 4 times GDP, declined significantly afterward, but today has returned to the valuations of the period before 2008.
The most interesting finding of the study, however, concerned ownership of a primary and secondary residence by individuals aged 50+. It was estimated that 83.9% of Greeks aged 50+ owned their primary residence (the second highest percentage in the EU, after Spain with 86.5%). However, Greeks over 50 ranked first in Europe with a rate of 37.1% in ownership of both a primary and secondary residence. The median value of fixed assets for individuals aged 50+ was 120,000 euros for Greece.
Even more interesting was the finding that the median value of fixed assets of the poorest 25% of individuals aged 50+ in Greece approached 75% of the corresponding value for all individuals aged 50+. This does not occur in most other countries of Europe.
It was also estimated that in Greece the percentage of individuals aged 50+ who have financial assets (bonds, shares, mutual funds, and life insurance) was below 2% (among the lowest in the EU). 90% of the total wealth of Greeks aged 50+ is in fixed assets and only 10% in financial assets.
The final conclusion is that in Greece (as well as in the southern countries of Europe: Italy and Spain) in the postwar period there was a primary accumulation of capital in fixed assets (mainly residences), in contrast to Northern Europe where citizens invested in financial instruments.
The above data show that the country's retirees are, to a very large extent, holders of fixed assets with an average value of approximately 100,000 euros. This capital can be converted, through reverse mortgage loans (Reverse Mortgages), into supplementary income, which can cover the following three categories of needs of the elderly:
- Repayment of “red loans” (NPLs) of Natural Persons, which amount (year 2025) to 41 billion euros (25 are housing loans and 16 are consumer loans). The overwhelming majority of debtors are over 60 years old. The inability to repay red loans, over the last 15 years, has led to successive legislative regulations, which however have not solved the problem, because (a) borrowers do not have the means to repay the loans, and (b) auctions result in the borrower being evicted from their home. Both of these problems can be effectively addressed with Reverse Mortgages.
- Supplementary pension benefits. This development constitutes an imperative need for successive generations of retirees, because the huge pension cuts imposed by the three Memoranda will inevitably lead successive generations of retirees to seek supplementary sources of income. Reverse mortgages will constitute the main support mechanism for retirees.
- Financing part of the expenses for Long-Term Care of the Elderly. A recent study by the University of Piraeus raises the total annual cost of the new insurance system to 5.5 billion euros. Part of this cost will be covered by the elderly themselves. In this case as well, reverse mortgage loans will constitute the only way out for the overwhelming majority of the elderly.
* Emeritus Professor, University of Piraeus