Pension, healthcare contributions to rise for self-employed
Greece’s self-employed professionals and farmers will pay an additional 3.46% this year
The vast majority of self-employed professionals, who choose the lowest (or first) social security category, will pay almost 8 euros per month or €95.52 per year more in their contributions for main pensions and healthcare, in line with the inflation rate of 2023.
The competent deputy minister of labor and social security, Panos Tsakloglou, signed on Tuesday the relevant ministerial decision, which foresees an increase in the social security contributions that the 1.3 million individuals who are not paid through salaries (self-employed, freelance professionals and farmers) will be asked to pay 3.46%, based on the consumer price index data published last Friday by the Hellenic Statistical Authority.
In the event that a self-employed individual pays contributions not only for their main pension and healthcare but also for a supplementary pension and retirement lump sum, then for the first category they will be asked to pay an additional amount of more than €10 per month, specifically €311.95 per month, while in 2023 they paid €301.54. The new categories, with the corresponding charges, will be implemented in practice from February, when the insured will be asked to pay their contributions for January. The self-employed have the options to choose from the first (low) category of €238.22 for main social security and health up to the sixth of €642.09, until January 31.
Notably, those who have no intention of switching to another category than the one they had chosen or were in in 2023, do not need to make a choice. The Single Social Security Entity (EFKA) will keep them in the same category, adjusting it of course, with the increase of 3.46%. With the same decision, the upper limit of insurable earnings, which is used to calculate the monthly contributions of employees and employers, is adjusted by 3.46% for the current year and is set at the amount of €7,373.88. The contributions of farmers are increasing by the same percentage, as well as the contributions for those insured for supplementary pensions and lump sums.
