Speaking tonight at an event organised by the Supreme Confederation of Pensioners of Greece, Nikos Androulakis, president of PASOK-Movement for Change, identified the reinstatement of the 13th pension, a new EKAS, a reduction in the solidarity contribution paid by pensioners, the unfreezing of supplementary pensions, the removal of inequalities in survivors’ pensions and an increase in disability pensions as key priorities for the next PASOK government.
“Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, I am truly pleased to be among people who have learned to fight, at the event of the Supreme Confederation of Pensioners of Greece, and among such wonderful friends. I want to begin with a deep-seated conviction of PASOK. PASOK has always believed that a pension is not a benefit. It is not a favour. It is not government generosity. It is a right. It is the reward for a lifetime of work, contributions and service to society. That is why a pensioner’s ability to live with dignity cannot depend each year on what the prime minister of the day announces at the Thessaloniki International Fair. It cannot depend on a one-off payment in November. It cannot depend on whether anything is left over from the huge budget surpluses generated by high prices and the indirect taxes paid every day by the Greek people.”
“That is why PASOK presented a comprehensive plan this summer of 17 very specific institutional measures affecting all pensioners. Because, friends, this issue is deeply rooted in our party’s political identity. It is what our founder once called ‘proud old age’. Today I am speaking to a ‘proud, mature youth’.”
The welfare state
“You know very well that the welfare state has suffered severe blows since the economic crisis. But for us, the welfare state has never been a footnote to economic policy. It is the central concern of a fair society that tackles inequality and makes room for every citizen to live with dignity.”
“Over the past decade, you pensioners in particular have been through a great deal. You bore a disproportionate share of the impact of the economic crisis. You saw your pensions cut. You saw the retirement age rise. You saw rights built up over decades overturned. And at the same time, you contributed to something very important: you kept your families going. Who can forget that you were called on to pay bills, help your unemployed child, support a grandchild who was studying, and cover the rent when your children’s wages were not enough?”
“You might have expected your efforts, sacrifices, the injustices you endured and your contribution to be recognised after the bailout programmes ended. But what happened? First, the Tsipras-Kammenos government abolished EKAS, which remains an outstanding issue to this day. The personal difference remains in place through hidden loopholes. Supplementary pensions remain frozen. The solidarity contribution continues to take a slice out of pension increases.”
Criticism of the government
“For seven years, New Democracy has fallen short of what society needs. As leader of the opposition, the prime minister pledged to repeal the Katrougalos law. So how can Mr Kostis Hatzidakis now say, ‘We promise less so we can do more’? They pledged to take a major step: to repeal the Katrougalos law. They did not do it. So the opposite is probably true. They promised you a great deal and delivered very little. We must remember this when assessing whether each party’s words match its actions.”
“Government policy cannot be reduced to ‘patches’ and piecemeal benefits. These alone cannot improve your lives or address high prices and the cost of a supermarket basket. They do not pay the electricity bill. They do not pay for medicines. The figures are now stark. Pensions may have risen in nominal terms, but when food prices go up, housing and rent become unaffordable, and energy is extremely expensive, real purchasing power falls. That is why I speak of nominal increases.”
“We are not here to offer yet another benefit. We are committed to permanent institutional measures that will restore pensioners’ incomes. I will set out four clear commitments.”
The four commitments
“First: reinstating the 13th pension. There has been a great deal of debate about this in recent months. What is our commitment? It is costed and time-bound: to restore the 13th pension gradually for all pensioners. Not as a one-off payment, but as a pension. In the first phase, from 2027, at an additional cost of €420 million. In the third year of our term, when the measure is fully implemented, the additional cost will be €840 million. So we are saying what we will do, when we will do it and how much it will cost. That is what serious and credible commitments mean.”
“There are, of course, those who have turned unreliability into a science, a profession. They promised a 13th pension in 2023, but suddenly, in better fiscal conditions, when PASOK proposes it, they call it ‘populism’. At the beginning of October they said that, fiscally, ‘we cannot afford to give a 13th pension’. By the end of October, after the opinion polls, they were pledging that they, too, might introduce a 13th pension. I say this so that you can judge whether the government, the official opposition and the other parties seeking your vote follow through on their words. And I am talking about the parties in government.”
“Second: a new EKAS. Abolishing EKAS was a deep social wound. EKAS was for the most vulnerable, for pensioners on low incomes: people forced to choose which need to pay for, people in a very difficult position. That is why we are committed to a new EKAS, based on modern social criteria. It will cover around 380,000 low-income pensioners with an individual pension of up to €550, or up to €800 for a couple of pensioners. The monthly payment will range from €50 to €180. This is the new EKAS that PASOK is committed to delivering. This is what a welfare state for all citizens means.”
Solidarity contribution and the personal difference
“Third: the solidarity contribution paid by pensioners. There is an absurdity that must be brought to an end as soon as possible. The government announces a pension increase, and pensioners wait to see it in their pockets. Then, all of a sudden, they move into a higher band of the solidarity contribution and part of the increase disappears. They give with one hand and take away with the other. That is not a real increase. It is deception. That is why we are committed to gradually reforming the solidarity contribution, reducing the burden by 20% in the first year of a PASOK government, with the aim of cutting it further in the years that follow. When we say pensions are going up, the increase must reach pensioners. It must not disappear into deductions and bands.”
“And now to the fourth commitment: the personal difference. For years, New Democracy said: ‘We will abolish the personal difference.’ Fine. The time has come. And what do we find? For hundreds of thousands of pensioners, the personal difference may be abolished on paper, but its effects remain in practice. How? They do not calculate the increase on the full amount a pensioner receives. They exclude the personal difference and calculate the increase on the remainder. Is that a genuine abolition? No, it is a political deception. Because this creates pensioners who are once again treated differently. People with the same contribution record receive different real increases. That is unjust and must not continue. So we are absolutely clear: fully abolishing the personal difference means fully abolishing its effects. No asterisks. No ‘yes, but’. No accounting tricks.”
“And this is not the only way the New Democracy government has deceived pensioners. Remember survivors’ pensions. When we raised the issue, they told us: ‘Come on, there’s no money tree.’ And when public pressure became too great, they were forced to act. Yet they still left out of the measure those widowed pensioners who began receiving a pension before May 2016. We see the same thing on many issues affecting economic and social life. Take the 120 instalments, for example. That, too, was ‘populism’ and a ‘measure that was not … needed’. In the end, they introduced the measure PASOK had proposed back in 2022, but made it available to only a few, not to those who truly need it.”
Social justice
“First they say it cannot be done. Then they say there is no money. Next they say the proposal is irresponsible. And finally, under pressure from you, as everyday problems mount, they adopt a small part of what we proposed as a government initiative — even though they had previously denounced it as populism. This is not a welfare policy with a plan. It is politics driven by opinion polls, and it must change.”
“Friends, PASOK has proved its credibility. And our proposals do not stop here. Our plan provides for supplementary pensions to be unfrozen after fifteen years. We are also committed to improving replacement rates for people with long contribution records; finally introducing a proportional pension, so that no day of work and no contribution goes to waste; and correcting injustices in disability pensions by granting the full national pension to disability pensioners with a disability rating of 67% and twenty years of insurance contributions. That means an increase of €112 in disability pensions. We will provide meaningful protection for survivors’ pensions and address the injustices that farmers insured by the former OGA continue to face.”
“All this is our plan. It is our political choice. What does this choice show? What kind of society do we want? One in which a person is considered a cost or a burden when they finish their working life? Or one that recognises their struggle, their hard work and their contribution, and guarantees them a dignified life? We have made our choice. We want a society based on rights, dignity and respect. Because that is the essence of a progressive outlook: people do not lose their place in society when they leave the labour market.”
Public healthcare system
“Today, our society truly needs a strong welfare state, for reasons of social justice, inequality and demographic risk. A public healthcare system that does not force pensioners to spend half their pension on private healthcare. A state that keeps the cost of living in check and sets rules for the market. That protects people’s primary residence. That effectively addresses private debt. That creates a framework for fair taxation. A state that does not stand by while powerful players dominate oligopolies in energy, banking, food and healthcare.”
“Friends, social justice is not built with slogans. It is established through political choices. Every choice we make reflects our character and our ideology. It requires clear priorities and goals, resources and political will.”
“This is our commitment: to make the welfare state a source of security once again for every citizen, wherever they live, in every corner of the country; to make a pension a guarantee of dignity again, not a struggle to survive; and to build a state that does not remember citizens’ needs only at election time, but stands by you through permanent institutions that secure a standard of living worthy of the expectations of all Greeks. Thank you very much, and I wish you every success with your event. After all, I have known the ‘mature youth’ for many years. I love and greatly respect them,” the PASOK leader concluded.