Labour Minister Niki Kerameus presented a bill to the Greek parliament to reform occupational pensions and expand supplementary retirement savings for workers.
Kerameus said the proposed legislative framework provides tangible benefits for insured individuals, businesses, and the broader national economy by modernising the second pillar of the country's social security system.
Under the structure outlined in the legislation, Greece's social security system is organized into three distinct pillars. The first pillar covers public, universal, and mandatory primary and supplementary insurance managed by the state.
The second pillar encompasses occupational pension funds and voluntary collective workplace insurance schemes. The third pillar consists of private individual protection mechanisms, including commercial pension and savings insurance products.
Benefits for workers and businesses
Addressing lawmakers during the parliamentary debate, Kerameus said the new framework reinforces and supplements retirement income while facilitating access to voluntary pension protection. She stated that the legislation safeguards and enables the portability of vested pension rights, expands transparency, and provides members with better updates regarding investment performance.
She added that the reform specifically extends protection to freelancers and self-employed professionals, while creating opportunities for supplementary benefits.
For businesses seeking to recruit and retain workers amid workforce shortages, Kerameus said the bill provides an additional incentive for employee retention. Employers will be able to offer occupational pension coverage through collective bargaining agreements, enhancing corporate identity and corporate social responsibility.
Furthermore, Kerameus explained that the bill allows enterprises to manage investment capital directly and capital investment support. It also creates a more accessible operational framework for smaller businesses that previously faced difficulties accessing occupational insurance programs.
Economic impact and regulatory supervision
Detailing the economic impact of the legislation, Kerameus said the reform accumulates investment capital, channels liquidity into the domestic economy, and helps prevent capital flight. She emphasized that the measure encourages long-term household savings, creates new jobs in the financial services sector, and utilizes occupational insurance as a tool to strengthen overall pension adequacy.
The minister highlighted the crucial role played by the Bank of Greece, the national supervisory authority for occupational funds. She noted that the legislation voted on in parliament was drafted jointly with the Bank of Greece, drawing directly on practical experience from the initial years of the law's application and 18 months of active supervisory oversight by the central bank.
Voluntary participation and sector expansion
Supporting the legislation, New Democracy rapporteur Gina Oikonomou said the government is actively strengthening and expanding the second pillar of social security. She noted that Occupational Insurance Funds, known locally as TEA, represent a vital social institution established by social partners that has operated for the benefit of workers in Greece for more than 20 years.
Oikonomou reported that Greece currently has 28 occupational pension funds in operation. She emphasized that participation in occupational insurance remains strictly voluntary, relying on cooperation between employers and employees rather than state coercion.
According to Oikonomou, the bill introduces a flexible tool for additional employee insurance beyond mandatory primary and secondary coverage. She said it will offer new voluntary pension and health choices to millions of freelancers and self-employed workers, as well as their families.
Occupational pension funds in Greece operate as independent non-profit entities governed jointly by employer and employee representatives. The ruling New Democracy party holds a majority in the Greek parliament, where lawmakers regularly consider structural economic and social security legislation.
