Emergency aid of 352 million euros for 2.3 million vulnerable people in December

The emergency aid will be paid to the following groups of citizens:

– 800,000 beneficiaries of OPECA’s child benefit will receive an additional one and a half installments of child benefit. As an example, the total amount (initial amount plus an additional one and a half installment) that a family with three children will receive in December ranges from 280 to 700 euros.

– 1.055 million pensioners who do not have a personal difference or have less than 10 euros and receive a sum of main pensions up to 700 euros, will receive an extraordinary aid of 150 euros. They themselves will receive an increase in their pensions from 1-1-2024. Thus, a pensioner with earnings of 600 euros will receive a total increase (extraordinary allowance of 150 euros + an increase of about 3 % from 1.1.2024) on an annual basis of 366 euros or 5.1 %.

The same extraordinary aid (150 euros) will be received in December by the 33,000 beneficiaries of the uninsured elderly allowance.

– 210,000 beneficiaries of the minimum guaranteed income will receive an additional 50% of the monthly allowance. It is recalled that from December, as has been announced, the minimum guaranteed income is increasing by 8%. Thus, a family of four will receive a total of 648 euros in December (initial allowance + 8% increase + extraordinary allowance).

– 225,000 beneficiaries of the OPECA disability allowance, the extra-institutional allowance and other disability allowances of the e-EFKA will receive a support of 200 euros.

It is reminded that in December additional payments will be made:

• Allowance of 100-200 euros for pensioners with a personal difference.
• Double the amount of market pass and its extension for November and December for citizens in the areas affected by the recent disasters.
• Heating allowance for all energy sources which from 1-1-2024 is also extended to electricity bills.
• The Youth Pass for 18-19 year olds.
• The increased 8% minimum guaranteed income.

The total cost of the measures to support citizens’ income in December amounts to 717 million euros, while the expenditure on permanent measures to support citizens’ income from 2024 (includes increases in wages and pensions, tax-free for families, minimum guaranteed income, the reduction of the ENFIA for insured homes, the Youth Pass and the exemption of former EKAS beneficiaries from participating in the cost of purchasing medicines) amounts to 1.6 billion. euros per year.

THE Minister of National Economy and Finance, Kostis Hatzidakis, stated: “We were committed to scraping the bottom of the barrel to find the required resources to support our most vulnerable fellow citizens. The overperformance of the economy and by extension the overperformance of the budget facilitated our effort! Always respecting the baseline for fiscal seriousness and for achieving the goals we have set for the primary surplus, we are proceeding with significant emergency income support for 2.3 million of our fellow citizens and in particular for vulnerable families, the low-pensioners, the disabled needs, the beneficiaries of the minimum guaranteed income. I would like to remind everyone, because we have been tested as a society and as a country very much by populism: do not listen to all those who enter auctions, feed rabbits with parsley, appear ready to give everything to everyone. If today we can and do give even this amount, we succeed because we implement a serious policy. And that is what we will continue to do».

THE Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance, Thanos Petralias, stated: “As it proved yesterday and from the ten-month Budget execution data, the Greek Economy continues to do well and perform well. This allows us today to announce an additional measure of support, but targeted at vulnerable households, in continuation of what we have already announced, without deviating from the objectives of the Budget.

Let’s remember that during the month of December we will have the increase of the minimum guaranteed income by 8%, the support of pensioners who have a personal difference, the heating allowance, the youth pass and other support measures.

Therefore, in order to support the households most affected by the high level of prices and in view of the measures of permanent increases in wages and pensions applied from 2024, a social solidarity allowance of a total of 350 million euros will be given in December, in addition to the interventions that have already been announced for the same month.

The support will be mainly focused on families with children, people with special needs and low pensioners».

In detail, the beneficiaries and the amounts of the extraordinary aid are as follows:

• Beneficiaries of the OPECA child benefit will receive an additional one and a half installments of child benefit. It concerns approximately 800,000 beneficiaries and the cost amounts to 125 million euros.

It is recalled that the amount of the allowance amounts to 70 or 42 or 28 euros for each child for the first and second child per month, depending on the amount of income and to 140 or 84 or 56 from the third and for each subsequent child, per month .

Therefore, the additional support is indicated in the table below and ranges from 42 euros up to 840 euros for a family with 5 children:

• Beneficiaries of the OPECA disability allowance and beneficiaries of the non-institutional allowance and other disability allowances of the e-EFKA (225,000) will receive an aid of 200 euros. The cost amounts to 45 million euros.
• Beneficiaries of the minimum guaranteed income (210,000) who will see an 8% increase from the month of December, during the same month they will receive an additional 50% of the monthly allowance. The cost is estimated at 24 million euros. It is recalled that today the allowance amounts to 200 euros per month for one-person households, for each additional adult in the household it is increased by 100 euros per month and for each additional minor member of the household by 50 euros per month. Therefore, a couple with 2 children who received an allowance of 400 euros, will receive a monthly increase of 32 euros and an additional 216 euros extraordinary allowance, i.e. a total of 648 euros.
• Pensioners without a personal difference or with a personal difference of less than 10 euros, who receive a sum of main pensions up to 700 euros (about 1 million beneficiaries), will receive an extraordinary aid of 150 euros during the month of December. It is recalled that the pensioners in question will receive an increase from 1/1/2024, while the corresponding pensioners with a personal difference who will not receive an increase from 1/1/2024 will receive an allowance of 200 euros. The aid of 150 euros will also be given to beneficiaries of the OPECA uninsured elderly allowance (approximately 33,000 beneficiaries who also receive an increase from 1/1/2024). The cost is estimated at around 158 million euros.

A total of 352 million euros will be given to 2.3 million beneficiaries.