10 pension cuts: Thousands of people will lose €3.5 billion in 2026

Greek pensioners enter 2026 under pressure from ten systemic cutswhich continue to reduce their real incomes. Besides more than 130 billion euroslost cumulatively from 2010 to 2025 due to memorandum laws, in 2026 additional losses are expected in the amount of 3.5 billion euros.

According to pension organizations, in 2026 losses are distributed as follows:

• 2.2 billion euros – due to health care contribution (6%);
• 888 million euros — through the pensioner solidarity contribution (ΕΑΣ) for basic and additional pensions;
• 500 million euros – due to the mechanism of the so-called “personal difference”.

Official data for October 2025 (2,517,615 pensioners in total) demonstrate the scale of the problem:

• Pension until 940 € get clean 55.34% pensioners.
• To 658 € — 36.4%.
• To 564 € — 28.36%.
• To 480 € — 18%.

Ten mechanisms (“κόφτες”) that continue to cut pensions:

1. Katrugkalos Law (2016) continues to act, maintaining deep cuts in basic and additional pensions, lump sum payments and survivors’ pensions.
2. Fiscal “creeping strangulation”: tax scales and the tax-free minimum are not indexed, while inflation gradually moves the income of pensioners into higher tax categories.
3. Personal difference: in 2026, most pensioners will receive only half of the indexation, and for hundreds of thousands, growth will be completely frozen.
4. Double taxation through ΕΑΣ: Pensioners pay income tax and solidarity contribution at the same time (3–14%). Over 14 years, about 10 billion euros.
5. Raises below inflation: nominal growth in pensions (about 2.4% gross in 2026) does not compensate for rising prices.
6. Frozen supplementary pensions: since 2010, no increases, with real losses of over 13%.
7. Unpaid recalculations for 2015–2016despite court decisions.
8. Unfinished recalculation of pensions according to law 4387/2016, depriving thousands of pensioners of additional payments and recalculations.
9. Increased medical contribution (6%)which also applies to additional pensions without any protection against inflation.
10. No minimum pension: Since 2015 there is no “safety net”, pensions fall below 400 euros.

Result: Even with formal increases in pensions, the combined effect of taxes, contributions and inflation leads to constant decline in purchasing power and further impoverishment of pensioners.

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