After the pension reform, the minimum income for a pensioner in Cyprus will be €900, compared with a poverty threshold of €1,018

Cyprus trade unions warned that the pension reform planned by the government will leave some pensioners below the poverty line. The statements were made after a meeting between the government, employers’ organisations, trade unions and other stakeholders, which lasted four and a half hours.

PEO General Secretary Sotiroula Charalambous recalled that the poverty threshold in Cyprus currently stands at €1,018 per month. Under the government’s current plans, the minimum income for a pensioner, including all benefits and allowances, will be €900, compared with the current €794. “Even after the reform, there will be pensioners whose total income remains below the poverty threshold,” she stressed.

PEO is also dissatisfied with the fact that the reduction coefficient applied to early retirement will only be lowered by the government from 12% to 7.5%. The trade union is insisting on the full, rather than partial, abolition of this deduction.

SEK leader Andreas Matsas said that his organisation “will not accept differentiated reductions in pension payments” and will not agree to risks for future pensioners. According to calculations by state actuary Costas Stavrakis, the reform will cost taxpayers €50 million a year during its first five years.

Minister of Labour and Social Insurance Marinos Mousiouttas said that similar meetings would be held twice a week to discuss all the issues as quickly as possible. He confirmed that the “small cheque” — a supplementary payment for pensioners whose income is below a certain threshold — would remain in place after the reform. The government’s aim is to pass the legislation by the beginning of next year and fully launch the reform on 1 February.

Director General of the Federation of Employers and Industrialists (OEB) Michalis Antoniou described the discussion as productive and expressed hope that the bill could be submitted to Parliament with a minimum of disagreements. CCCI Secretary General Philokypros Rousounidis described the announced timeline as “an optimistic scenario”.