In EFKA’s efficient services, many such decisions of the Court of Auditors shall be implemented with retroactive effect. For EAS deductions from pensioners who appealed before or after the Court of Auditors’ decision 244/2017, which is unconstitutional, from the main state pensions or from the main pension amount exceeding 1,400 euros in total.
Retirees who do not pursue statutory remedies are entitled to a lump sum through the EAS, which may be less than the deductions due to them over a two-year period (2087-2018), which is considered unconstitutional.
The EAS deductions from state pensions for the two years 2017 and 2018 concern all state pensioners (politicians and special salaries) who received a main pension or a main pension amount of more than 1,400 euros per month during the disputed period.
The second decision of the plenary session of the Court of Auditors (1975/2021) applies universally to the pensioners in question, whereby the EAS exemptions for the period February 2017-December 2018 must be revoked as unconstitutional. The same decision said that the reservations are constitutional from 2019 onwards and will therefore continue to be enforced.
EAS backwards
In retrospectives of EAS Pensioners are divided into three categories:
- For pensioners who filed cases before 2017, the first decision was issued regarding the unconstitutionality of the EAS.
- For pensioners who have applied for EAS after termination.
- For those pensioners who did not file a case before or after the decision, following the instructions of the competent Ministers and especially the Public Accounts Office, filed thousands of objections with the Public Accounts Office with a request to stop the EAS deduction of pensions and refund them from reservations after 2017.
The pensioners with cases are estimated to be around 8,000, most of whom appealed before the Court of Auditors’ decision and are entitled to back pay for up to 5 years. , till December 2018.
However, most of the state’s pensioners do not appeal to the EAS, but base their claims on their written objections, which establish a retroactive right according to the jurisprudence of court decisions. After all, the first judgment of the Court of Auditors (244/2017) recognized the unconstitutionality of the EAS regardless of whether appeals were filed or not.
420 million euros cost the total amount of the refund by the competent services of the Public Accounting Office. This corresponds to about 370,000 state pensioners who retired before the Katrukalo law with a main pension or a total main pension amount of 1,400 euros.
This decision does not concern young people who retired from 13/5/2016, as the EAS was considered constitutional for young and old age pensioners by the Katrougalou Law.
According to the detailed tables prepared and published by the “Insurance and Pensions” insert, the EAS refund reaches three levels and up to 12,235 euros depending on the salary category of pensioners.
According to pointer tables in backward insertion from EAS:
Pensioners from special pay (judicial, university, etc.) without appeals are entitled to a 23-month advance with amounts ranging from 3,335 euros to 12,236 euros.
With a smaller pension compared to judges and university employees, retired pensioners from the Special Pay List are entitled retroactively to 10,120 euros.
The rest of the pensioners of the state (teachers, ministries, public bodies, hospitals, municipalities, etc.) are entitled to a 23-month advance with an amount ranging from 575 euros to 6,256 euros, as long as they retire as high-ranking employees (general). Managers, Supervisors, Heads of Departments, etc.) etc.).
Retrospective payment orders from EFKA
The newspaper “Eleftheros Typos” points to three warrants Advance payments from EAS deductions for pensioners bringing individual appeals and refunding 23 months from February 2017 to December 2028. In detail:
- With First Payment Order (Document 1) The pensioner receives 3,648.49 euros and 619.37 euros, i.e. total refunds of 4,267 euros, retroactive EAS or AGAGE as stated in the pension notices.
- With the second payment order (Document 2) The pensioner receives 5,403.04 euros of retroactive ACAG and 917.23 euros of interest, i.e. a total of 6,320 euros.
- In the third payment order (Document 3) EFKA Following the court decision, a pensioner will be reimbursed 5,127.62 euros in retroactive ACAG and 870.47 euros in interest, i.e. a total of 5,998 euros.
Retroactive EAS payments are not delayed by court rulings as they are implemented immediately from the moment EFKA is notified.
In addition to retroactivity, will there be a reduction in EAS deductions for pensioners as well?
The Ministry of Labor works in situations to reduce EAS deductions on all pensions above 1,400 euros and not only the state, but pension increases due to deductions are zero or significantly limited.
The advantage for pensioners is, on the one hand, the preservation of a large part of the income, and on the other hand, the reduction of deductions by 20 to 70 euros per month.
Scenarios under consideration include abolishing EAS from the supplementary pension. The changes will be voted on in the autumn and implemented from 2024 or 2025.
Winners
Before the first judgment of the Court of Auditors (244/2017) was published, visionary state pensioners filing lawsuits against the General State Accounting Office for EAS, which was deemed unconstitutional, were the big winners. Right of withdrawal for 5 years with amounts like 35,000 euros!
losers
Public pensioners who leave after the Katrougalos law and receive a pension of more than 1,400 euros are not entitled to a refund of the EAS deduction, although the refund is the same as for older pensioners. Old and new pensioners from all other funds (IKA, DEKO etc.) are being treated unfairly because the EAS was deemed unconstitutional by the State Council with jurisdiction over private sector pensions.
