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Five changes drafted by the government will completely alter the pension landscape. The most significant one concerns those people who will retire from 1 January 2015 onwards, as the state guarantee will no longer cover the entire pension the way it is now, but only part of it - up to 360 euro.
The rest of the amount which will depend on the pension contributions and the period covered will be the responsibility of the pension funds that will have to pay without additional funding from the national budget. This is one of the major changes in the social insurance area that will be included in a new law applied from 1 January 2015 onwards.
According to the Eleftheros Typos newspaper, the changes will be based on a study by the Center for Development and Economic Research on 60 sectors as well as on proposals from creditors.
The changes comprise:
1. Changing the retirement age regarding early retirement. The plan has two parameters:
a) Revoking the early retirement option for those who have not acquired the right to a pension
b) Increasing the age limit to 1 or 2 years every 6 months per year for those who are entitled to retirement and who have covered the necessary insurance period, but have not reached the age required for retirement.
If the early retirement is revoked, the ones who could qualify for retirement at the age of 55 or 52 years will be automatically retired no later than 62 years. By gradually increasing the retirement age, the people who are insured do not lose the right to become retired earlier, but their retirement will be simply delayed between 6 months and 2 years. As an alternative plan, there is considered the possibility of increasing the required period of insurance for retirement from 4,500 to 6,000 days.
2. A zero-deficit model in pension funds for the basic pensions, starting from 2015, by implementing the state-guaranteed pension of 360 euro.

3. Changes in the calculation of supplementary pensions by means of a new presidential decree drafted ​​by the Ministry of Employment. The new method of calculation shall result in greater reductions and will affect those who retire in 2014.
4. Changing contributions and combining them with the payment of taxes in one account. This process will be supervised by an IMF technocrat appointed in the Ministry of Employment.
5. Uniting the pension funds after the dissolution of the 20 management boards and committees operating today either in the pension funds regarding basic pension, or autonomously.