The Greek Parliament is set to vote on a Ministry of Labour and Social Security bill expanding occupational pension options for businesses and workers.
Labour and Social Security Minister Niki Kerameus said the legislation creates a modern, functional, and reliable framework for supplementary retirement savings while providing direct support to the national economy.
The bill, titled Strengthening Occupational Insurance: More Options for Employees and Businesses, Expanding Supplementary Pension Savings Options, was submitted to parliamentary committees for initial debate on July 30, 2026, ahead of the plenary vote.
New Options for Small Businesses and Self-Employed
Occupational insurance serves as the second pillar of Greece's social security system, operating alongside mandatory public insurance to offer workers and employers supplemental retirement coverage.
The primary reform introduces Open Occupational Insurance Funds, known as Open TEAs, alongside Open Group Insurance Occupational Pension Products, known as OAPES. These new structures allow self-employed individuals and workers at smaller enterprises to access secondary pension plans.
Ministry officials noted that smaller businesses make up a significant portion of the Greek economy. Under previous regulations, smaller firms faced substantial barriers when attempting to establish second-pillar pension coverage for their staff.
Tax Incentives and Contribution Caps
The legislation establishes an updated framework of tax incentives aligned with international standards to encourage participation from both employers and workers.
Under the new rules, contributions to occupational pension schemes are 100 percent tax-deductible. The law significantly raises annual contribution ceilings to 35,000 euros for self-employed individuals and up to 35 percent of total annual income for salaried employees.
Taxation on retirement payouts will no longer depend on the total years an individual has held insurance, linking tax rates directly to the age at which an individual exits the scheme.
Participants retiring between the ages of 62 and 67 will face a 10 percent tax rate on lump-sum payouts and a 5 percent rate on annuity pensions. For individuals exiting after age 67, taxation drops to 5 percent for lump-sum payouts and 2.5 percent for pensions.
Additionally, the reform eliminates the tax penalty previously imposed on workers who joined occupational pension schemes later in their careers.
Portability Rights and Regulatory Safeguards
A central pillar of the reform secures full portability of pension rights, ensuring that job changes or shifts in professional status do not reduce or erase accrued benefits.
The bill introduces group portability, allowing entire pension plans to be transferred between different TEAs and OAPES providers. Individual portability is also established, enabling workers who switch employers to transfer their accrued pension rights to a new fund.
To protect insured participants as flexibility increases, the Bank of Greece will enforce strict supervisory safeguards over all occupational pension transfers and operations.
Benefits for Workers, Businesses, and the Economy
For insured workers, the ministry stated that the law boosts overall pension income, expands access to secondary coverage, protects self-employed workers, and provides enhanced transparency regarding investment performance.
For employers, the reform offers a tool to recruit and retain personnel, enables pension contributions through collective bargaining agreements, and strengthens corporate social responsibility while simplifying administration for smaller companies.
From a macroeconomic perspective, the ministry expects the framework to accumulate investment capital, inject liquidity into the domestic economy, prevent capital flight, encourage household savings, and generate new jobs in the financial sector.
Kerameus stated that the final version of the draft law incorporated more than 90 percent of the recommendations submitted by stakeholder organisations during the public consultation process.
