The approval by the Council of Ministers of the extension of the period of absorption by the state of the cost of the increase in pensions until June 30, 2025, for the purposes of granting the Low Pensioner Allowance, was announced on Wednesday by the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, Marilena Evangelou.
In her statements after the end of the session of the Council of Ministers, Mrs. Evangelou said that the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare, taking into account the increase of approximately 5,94% of Social Insurance Fund pensions, from January 1, 2025, and in order to effectively shield pensioners with low incomes, considered it necessary to extend the absorption period of said increase, which would otherwise expire on December 31, 2024.
Furthermore, he explained that for the purposes of providing the beneficiaries of the Low-Pensioner's Allowance, the increase in Social Insurance Fund pensions will not be taken into account, because otherwise the supplement granted by the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare as Low-Pensioner's Allowance would have been smaller or even cutting it off in some cases.
"Today's decision secures the incomes of approximately 25.000 households, which are included in the Plan to Support Pensioners with Low Incomes, including low-pensioner households that receive the Low-Pensioners Allowance through the Minimum Guaranteed Income," he noted.
In closing, he said that the cost of the absorption amounts to approximately €10,8 million and that today's decision ensures the uninterrupted continuation of support for low-income pensioners, without any differentiation of their incomes.
