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OR government is preparing a new legislative intervention for the professional insuranceseeking to boost its second pillar insurance system. The person in charge Minister of Labour, Niki Kerameos, opens her papers in “K” with key changes promoted, creating open Professional Insurance Funds (TEA)the full portability of insurance rights and the new tax incentives. It reveals evidence that pensioner employment and the digital card have delivered a revenue outperformance of more than €800 million to EFKA and leaves open the possibility of further relief as labor market compliance is strengthened.
– The Ministry of Labor is promoting changes in the context of professional insurance. Why are you proceeding with a new legislative intervention?
– Allow me an attempt to approach, as if we are looking at the issue from above. what i mean In the country we have three pillars of insurance. The first pillar includes the mandatory insurance bodies in which the known plays a leading role EFKA and the TEKAand it is a very large and sturdy pillar. There is a second pillar of insurance which is the so-called Occupational Insurance Funds and group pension insurance contracts, which offer additional pension benefits. The third pillar concerns individual insurance contracts. Obviously, we are constantly trying to strengthen the first, the mandatory pillar. However, we want to provide other additional complementary solutions, in order to increase the disposable income of citizens at the level of pension coverage. So we are coming with a bill, in continuation of the law proposed in 2023 by the very good colleague Panos Tsakloglouto strengthen the second pillar, the professional insurance funds. The 2023 law was tested in practice and we were thus able to detect its room for improvement.
– So what will change?
– Our main directions are three. We want occupational insurance funds to become more flexible, more protective for workers and more attractive overall for everyone.
Let’s take it from the beginning. What does more flexible mean?
The structure of the Greek economy is approximately 90% businesses with up to ten employees. It is very difficult for such a company to set up its own occupational insurance fund for its employees. So we want to allow the creation of so-called “open” TEAs. Professional Insurance Funds, that is, which will function as an “umbrella”. Imagine, say, banks offering professional insurance funds to all their business clients. Well, the possibility that smaller companies can join these funds – “umbrella” and most importantly, that the employees of these companies can join the TEA. The first big change is that we are introducing these ‘open’ professional insurance funds, giving more flexibility overall for smaller businesses and freelancers to enter.
– You said that the second change is to make TEAs more protective. How will you achieve this?
– Let’s see what we found in practice. I’m an employee somewhere and I’m changing jobs. I must be able to transfer these rights to a subsequent occupational insurance fund or provider with great ease.
Well, one new provision of the framework is full portability of my rights from one fund to another or to a group pension product. This is the second major change regarding the more protective framework, always combined with a very strict supervision by the Bank of Greece for the protection of the insured.
– And the third change?
– The third change is to make TEAs more attractive for everyone. To create incentives, that is, for both employees and businesses to take the initiative of either creating occupational insurance funds or joining an occupational insurance fund. So we are coming and establishing new tax incentives to precisely strengthen participation in these funds.
– Will the tax on benefits be reduced?
– The thought we have made is to improve tax incentives. A major point of discussion during the preparation of the bill was whether the insurance years will remain the reference point for the benefits, as in practice there have been various difficulties and in fact we have pending legal proceedings on the matter. We have seen that if we go to something simpler, followed by other countries, such as the link with the insured’s age, the framework becomes much more functional. It is easier to predict exactly all the parameters of the investment package and easier to have a real snapshot of your investment at any time.
– To insist a little on the changes. At the moment there is a great deal of variation in the process and operation of TEAs and group contracts made through insurance companies. Will the new bill bring about the full administrative consolidation of TEAs and group contracts, so that there is no distortion in the market?
– Yes, we intend for this to be restored and for there to be a simulation, I would say overall, of the framework, in terms of the TEAs on the one hand and a new model group pension product on the other which is the so-called OAPSthat is Group Occupational Retirement Insurance Product. This new product is part of the second pillar with the strict supervision that applies to TEAs. Thus, we bring an analogy of terms between these two. Although obviously I would say that each one has different advantages and characteristics. But in terms of the broader regime and in terms of incentives and in terms of oversight, now the aim is to have a simulation.
A new standard group pension product is being created, the so-called OAPES, i.e. Group Occupational Retirement Insurance Product.
– In order for the second pillar to be able to function and be strong, that is, for the employee to be able to save something more for his future, the wages should also be such as to allow him this possibility. How easy is that, given the high cost of living?
– It is true that the biggest challenge we have today in our country is accuracy. In all its manifestations. Whether we are talking about the supermarket or we are talking about the roof. There are many difficulties in everyday life. And the systematic effort of the government is on the one hand to increase incomes and on the other hand to reduce taxes, contributions and charges. This is how we have moved. As wages increase and as taxes, contributions and surcharges decrease, disposable income increases. In the increase of wages, in the minimum wage, this is indeed done by a government decision and the minimum wage has already increased by 41.5%, from 650 euros to 920. In the average wage, however, this is obviously a product of free negotiation between employee and employer. The only way to influence the average wage increase is through collective bargaining agreements. That is why this more friendly framework for the conclusion of collective labor agreements is of such great importance – especially at the present time. Next week we will be with the prime minister in Brussels, as the European Commission highlights Greece as an example to follow in terms of social dialogue and specifically collective labor agreements. Who would have expected that a country that does not have such a long history of social dialogue would now emerge as a good example of social dialogue.
Excess revenue of 800 million euros for EFKA in 2025
– Lately we have been reading a lot of possible pre-election announcements, information on additional benefits, etc. EFKA has entered a path of surpluses for a few years now. Is there fiscal room for further benefits?
– Indeed, the sustainability of EFKA has been significantly strengthened in recent years. We have taken a number of actions and the result of our policies has strengthened EFKA in at least three ways. First, we have almost 600,000 more workers in the labor market today than in 2019. Those 600,000 were on unemployment benefits in 2019, subsidized by the state.
Now they pay contributions themselves because they are employees and have now dynamically entered the labor market. Secondly, a very important boost through the improvement of the status of working pensioners. With the new attractive framework (which removed the pension withholding for any pensioner who wishes to work), we went from around 35,000 declared working pensioners to 283,000.
Third, very important, reinforcement is the systematic implementation and expansion of the digital job card. We have approved about 2.5 million workers on the digital work card.
Workers who see increases in their wages, while the labor market is rectified, because undeclared and undeclared work is revealed and healthy competition is strengthened.
– What effect do these three interventions have on the social security system?
– We are overperforming in relation to the targets. Only last year, in 2025, EFKA’s revenues exceeded the targets by more than 800 million euros. This money came mainly from the dynamic implementation and expansion of the digital work card and from the status of working pensioners.
The money came mainly from the implementation and expansion of the digital work card and from the status of working pensioners.
So in answer to your question I would say that as compliance with both insurance and tax laws improves, so does the fiscal space that allows us to return that dividend to society. Whether with tax reductions or contribution reductions or other tax reductions and contribution reductions.
We will be judged by actions and vision
– Polls show a fragmented political picture, with the presence of new parties and increased fluidity in the electorate. How do you assess this trend and do you think that the government will run out of four years or do you see a possibility of an early appeal to the polls?
– Demographically, we have seen the image of fluidity and mobility at the level of political trends for several years. In this image, however, we also see something else. We see that there is always a constant. And this constant is New Republicwhich despite the fact that it is completing its seventh year of government, has maintained a significant lead over the second party over the years. Obviously there is a normal attrition in any government that has ruled for such a long time. On the other hand, however, this constant is the one that can turn into practice the vision for Greece in 2030. And in the 2027 elections we will be judged on two things: on whether we implemented all that we announced and how we implemented them – and I think the results of our policies are tangible – and the second thing that we will be judged on is our vision and our plan for Greece in 2030. our plan in the direction of further economic development, further strengthening our defense and further institutional strengthening through the completion of the constitutional review that will be completed by the next Parliament.
