The average main pensions in July were below €800 gross, while supplementary pensions also showed a significant decrease, according to data from the Helios system.
This finding not only highlights the need for the abolition of the so-called “personal difference” already announced, but also underscores the necessity of continuous monitoring of the social security system to ensure the adequacy of pensions.
It also explains why the percentage of pensioners at risk of poverty after receiving benefits and pensions (social transfers), according to the most recent data from the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) for 2024 (income 2023), amounts to 13.6% of the total population.
In fact, the situation appears to be worsening each year, as both data from the Helios system of the Ministry of Labor and ELSTAT indicate that the income situation of pensioners is deteriorating dramatically.
The aging population, the consequences of the decade-long fiscal crisis, and the bailout policies implemented to address it – such as the 2016 Katrougalos Law – combined with high unemployment in previous years, low salaries in both the private and public sectors, and a relatively shallow and flexible labor market, have pushed pensions in Greece to particularly low levels.
Beyond the obvious issue of low salaries and consequently low pensionable earnings, in recent years almost 200,000 people have retired annually with pensions calculated under the Katrougalos Law. The law’s particularly low replacement rates have resulted in correspondingly low pension levels.
Specifically, data from the Helios system show that in July 2025 the average main pension amounted to €783 gross, compared with €821.99 gross a year ago. In June 2025, it was €843.63, while in July 2023 it was below €800 (€790.57 gross). Since the beginning of 2023, pensions have increased cumulatively by 13.25%, but this increase has applied only to those without a personal difference.
Even lower, at €776.12 gross, were the new main pensions issued by EFKA in July, with the Helios system again highlighting the significant discrepancy between new pensions in the private sector (€776.12 gross) and the public sector (€1,226.74).
A similar downward trend is observed in supplementary pensions, which do not increase in parallel with main pensions. This year in July, they fell to €178.51 from €196.59 in June and €196.89 in July 2024.