The debate over the pension rights of immigrants who have worked for decades in Greece has returned to the spotlight following public comments by left-wing journalist Christos Avramidis. In social media posts, he described the questions he has repeatedly put to government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis on the issue.
The issue concerns a requirement introduced by the so-called Katrugkalos law: receiving the full national pension requires 40 years of legal and permanent residence in Greece. According to Avramidis, this condition makes it difficult for many of those who settled in the country during the 1990s to receive their pensions.
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The journalist says thousands of immigrants have contributed for years in demanding sectors of the Greek economy. Among them were workers involved in building projects and infrastructure for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Many of them, he says, worked in harsh conditions, and there were also fatal accidents on construction sites.
According to Avramidis, one obstacle is that many immigrants were unable to secure legal residency status immediately after arriving in Greece. As a result, even those who have worked in the country for decades may be unable to meet the required period of legal residence for the full national pension.
The journalist describes this as a contradiction in the system: immigrants are required to prove legal residence for a certain period, even though, he argues, the Greek state had not given them the opportunity to obtain that status in the years when they arrived.
The four questions to Pavlos Marinakis and the ministry’s response
Avramidis explains that he initially asked the government spokesperson whether there were plans to change the pension rules:
“Does the government intend to change this provision and decouple the national pension amount from years of residence?”
According to the journalist, Marinakis acknowledged immigrants’ contribution to Greek society and the economy and said the question was specific. He said he would seek an answer from the responsible ministry, but none was provided immediately.
On October 15, Avramidis raised the issue again. Marinakis informed him that he had not yet received a response from the ministry. At another briefing for political reporters, the journalist asked for a third time, and the spokesperson said an answer might be provided the following Thursday.
The Labor Ministry’s response was presented at the fourth briefing. Avramidis claims it did not answer the central question: the ministry outlined the provisions in force and explained the 2022 arrangement for certain categories of people of Greek origin.
The journalist says he had mentioned this arrangement in his first question to highlight the different treatment of different groups. He again asked why the government, having acknowledged the problem for people of Greek origin, was not considering a similar solution for other immigrants.
According to Avramidis’s post, Marinakis replied that he could forward a new question to the Labor Ministry. The journalist stresses that, even after raising the issue four times, he has not received a clear answer on whether the government intends to change the pension requirement. He has described the law in question as racist and unfair.
The special 2022 arrangement
One of the central arguments in the debate concerns the different treatment of certain groups covered by social insurance. In 2022, a special provision was adopted for ethnic Greeks from Albania and the former Soviet Union, allowing for a more favorable calculation of the national pension.
For this group, the initial required period of residence was set at 30 years, rising gradually to 40 years in 2032. For all other insured individuals, the general requirement of 40 years of legal and permanent residence in Greece still applies for receiving the full national pension, alongside the other retirement requirements. For every year short of the 40-year period, the national pension is reduced by 1/40 of its amount.
The call for equal pension rights
Avramidis is calling on the government to review this distinction. He says the rule also affects immigrants who have lived in Greece for many decades but had no realistic opportunity to secure legal status immediately in the early years after their arrival. His comments also mention the Initiative of Albanian Immigrants and Solidarity Supporters, which has begun collecting signatures to demand equal pension rights for all immigrants.
The initiative is calling for the national pension not to be reduced on the basis of years of residence and for years of insurance contributions in countries of origin to be taken into account more fairly. Christos Avramidis urges citizens to support the campaign, pointing out that it concerns people who have worked for decades in construction, on building sites, in cleaning, agriculture, elder care and other demanding occupations.
According to the journalist, Albanian immigrants have made a major contribution to the Greek economy and society. The question now, he says, is whether that contribution will also be reflected in how they are treated when they retire.
