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Fundamental changes in the pension system, which include the merger of insurance funds and a new way of calculating pensions is proposed by the report of the expert commission that is engaged in reforming the Greek social security system.

Minister of Employment George Katrougalos presented the advisory report today and the council of ministers will discuss it at a meeting this coming Monday. Then subsequently the bill that will bring changes in the pension system in Greece will be subject to a public discussion, the goal being for it to be adopted by parliament in November.

The main proposal of experts is to merge all pensions (the auxiliary and the lump-sum benefit at retirement) with the main one and to introduce a general rule for the calculation of pensions of all retirees, as well as to revise the pensions paid, without specifying a timeframe for this.

The position of experts is that the basic pension in Greece should be 360 euro and that its exact amount should be determined by taking into account all the income of the pensioner. This means that some pensioners may receive only part of that amount, while others nothing.

The report also proposes the establishment of tax criteria for private social security. "The goal is to achieve redistribution of victims in an equal way," one of the commission members, Professor Angelos Stergiou, told Skai TV. He added that experts have not proposed pension cuts. "The choice is between a collapsing and a more rigorously calculated system," he added.

For his part, the Minister of Employment proposed that the minimum pension paid should not depend on the total income of citizens. "The information in the media about pensions of 300 and 600 euro is actually misinformation," said Katrougalos. At the same time, he avoided expressing an opinion on pensions higher than 1,000 euro.

The report of the expert commission is entitled: "Towards a social contract on pensions." Its introduction states the following:

"The commission has undertaken the difficult task of creating a new social security system. It is an ambitious goal that the commission has failed to achieve in a very short time. More than one option was presented at the meetings but as a result of mature judgment, there was convergence of views to a certain degree. The report does not hide the ‘polyphony’ and pluralism, while avoiding presenting things in a more positive light. Of course, the commission has only outlined the path, therefore confining itself to the presentation of the principles of the proposed system. Its implementation implies further expert processing. Similarly, the commission has not examined in depth the transition from the old to the new system, which will be the subject of a separate proposal."