End of early retirement in sight

Next year will see the closing of loopholes opened in the summer of 2015 and leading to the retirement of many workers on more favorable terms, before reaching the general retirement age of 67.

The move concerns legislation passed along as part of the third bailout program five years ago, regarding the extension of the retirement age. The idea was to impose the new limit gradually, so as to stem the surge of early retirements that has been one of the main challenges to the social security system.

This legislation is estimated to concern between 100,000 and 120,000 insured workers, with experts warning that fears of new interventions to the pension system could lead to the majority of them seeking to retire within 2021.

The experts say this concerns workers who entered the social security system before 1993, as for all others the door of early retirement has closed for good, forcing them to wait until the age of 67, unless they have completed 40 years of service by the age of 62.

Fears of an exodus are fueled by a reference in the report of the Pissarides committee to the early retirement expenditure that requires special attention and that by 2022 will be abolished.