Greece’s Ombudsman said that complaints by repatriated Greeks who receive small pensions from the countries in which they formerly live – resulting in them losing Greek pensions – are justified.
The Ombudsman’s office found that many elderly repatriated uninsured or pensioners who receive small pensions from their countries or those who have not completed 20 years of residence in Greece, are no longer receiving pensions from Greece.
For example, Greeks who lived and worked in places such as Germany, the UK, the United States and Australia and then returned to their homeland to live have found they are being cut off from pensions to which they used to be entitled before the government started making huge cuts during a crushing economic crisis.
The Ombudsman, in a letter sent to the Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Welfare, stressed that these provisions result in full pension forfeiture for the aged uninsured persons who belong to particularly vulnerable groups of the population. Moreover, they come against the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Constitution.
It was stressed that given the very low pension that Greeks repatriated receive, the deprivation of pension for the uninsured elderly will raise issues over their ability to survive. For many, the amount of the pensions from their former countries is so small that’s not enough to live on. decent living.
Specifically, the Authority stresses that the amount of pension given by the country of origin, which is further reduced over the medical care contribution is simply insufficient, even for food. It notes as well that it is an onerous measure, given that the beneficiaries are unable to adapt to the new situation because of their advanced age, adding that the 20-year period of residence required could be considered extremely long.
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