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The government and the Labor Ministry have decided to temporarily freeze changes to the age of retirement – originally expected in the new year – postponing the first, small increase in the age limits until 2030, despite strong recommendations for such an increase by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The move is providing an opportunity to some 25,000-30,000 insured people for an early exit, mainly mothers with underage children and workers in heavy and unhealthy professions.
The linking of retirement age limits with life expectancy over 65 years – a mechanism that has already been instituted since 2010 – is back in the drawer, with the review postponed to 2029 and any increase now carried over to 2030.
In Greece, retirement age limits are legally linked to the life expectancy of people over 65. For 2027, according to ongoing studies, life expectancy has not recovered after the Covid-19 pandemic to such an extent as to warrant changes in age limits beyond 67 for full retirement or 62 with 40 years of insurance. Hence, the decision that was to be taken at the end of 2026 for implementation from January 2027, has been postponed.