Retired civil servants launch appeal against pension cuts

The Panhellenic Federation of Public Service Pensioners (POPS), which represents retired civil servants, has appealed to the Council of State against legislation and ministerial decisions adopted earlier this year that led to their main and supplementary pensions being trimmed.

Law 4387/2016 introduced a reduction in the monthly retirement pay of anyone receiving a total (basic and supplementary) monthly pension of more than 1,300 euros. In its appeal, POPS makes reference to Council of State decisions from last year in which it deemed previous reductions to main and auxiliary pensions as not being in line with Greece’s Constitution.

POPS accuses the government of failing to take into account the verdict given by the country’s highest administrative court, which found that previous pensions cuts were not supported by comprehensive studies regarding the sustainability of pension funds.

The federation also claims that the recent ministerial decision preventing supplementary pensions from being funded from the state budget are contrary to the Constitution. POPS argues that Article 22 of the Constitution obliges the state to contribute toward auxiliary retirement pay.