Reduced pensions ‘can’t be scrapped’

Reduced pensions for early retirement cannot be scrapped as that would come at an annual cost of €100 million, Labour Minister Yiannis Panayiotou said on Tuesday as talks continue into pensions.

In statements after a meeting with the Social Insurance Council, employee and employer reps, Panayiotou said efforts are underway to ensure everyone “gets on the same page.”

He specified if certain groups were hoping to scrap the deduction “then unfortunately this will not happen, and this has been made clear from the onset.”

Central to the ongoing discussion is a union to demand to scrap the reduction – of 12 per cent for those who retire before the age of 65

The minister added it had become clear in the meeting that talks would not be wrapped within the day and perhaps more discussions would have to take place in the next few days.

“The government has the will to provide targeted relief to employees who have worked for many years,” he said.

Nonetheless, the discussions largely centre around individuals who worked in highly demanding and manual labour, he said.

According to Panayiotou, if all parties can accept that under the existing circumstances some relief measures can be offered “then I think there is room for us to be able to understand and agree, so that we can agree a bill that is acceptable to all.”

Some unions are held back because they have a “different philosophy” and this would make bridging the differences difficult, however he stressed scrapping the reduction is out of the question.

That would effectively mean lowering the retirement age, which would come at a cost of €100m every year.

If all parties cannot get on the same page, then the government has the right to make a decision and prepare a bill that if passed into law will offer 11,000 pensioners today an increase in their pension amounting to €800 per year.

“If not, then things will remain as they are.”