Premature Pensions in Check

The circular, based on a document of the Successive Insurance Bureau of the General Secretariat of Social Security differentiates between the establishment of pension rights, requiring specific work years as well as the minimum age. It also foresees that that in cases insured persons who were under the IKA-TEAM fund, later passed to the OAEE fund, and renewed their IKA subscription during 2011-2012, have established the prerequisites for pension "if they fulfill the requisite criteria established for those insured by the fund." This fulfillment of prerequisites does not hold if the insured person was under a fund other than IKA-ETAM.

Therefore, IKA will scrutinize if at the time the insured person again comes under IKA's umbrella the prerequisites (insured work time, age, existence of dependent minors) have been met. This strikes at mothers with dependent minors and persons that had established rights to pension under the previous regime.

What is more, the circular foresees an a posteriori enforcement of increased pension age limits for pending pensions, as well those already approved, which, as mentioned, will be revoked. The measure affects 30,000 pending pensions, of which 10,000 have already been approved, as well as another 120,000 persons that were planning on retiring early.