One step before checkout, at will receive retroactive interest up to 4,000 euros, there are 370,000 pensioners, who filed appeals to the Court, because a positive decision of the AED (Supreme Special Court) is expected for them. The decision, according to legal circles, is expected to be made public at the end of July or after September 15 and will be confirmed, according to reliable information, only the appellants.
If the AED decision is issued in favor of the pensioners as expected, it will reaffirm the three decisions of the Council of Ministers.
The pensioners claim the retroactive gifts and the return of the cuts in the supplementary pensions for 11 months June 2015 – May 2016. The total cost is about 750 million euros.
The discussion of the AED case took place on April 17, 2024. If the AED decision is issued in favor of the pensioners (as expected), it will reaffirm the three decisions issued by the Council of State (StE) in 2015, 2019 and 2021 , where it was decided that pensioners have the right to refunds from the cuts imposed on them in the 11 months June 2015 – May 2016, in the main and auxiliary pensions, as well as gifts.
It was emphasized that the government made it clear that those who filed cases in the courts will receive the retroactive benefits they claimed based on the court’s decisions. In this case, there is a legislative regulation for the payment process to end the great judicial marathon of pensioners.
As stressed by legal groups, the AED’s decision is a quasi-law and the government must implement it. The retrospective is of interest and concerns only those who went to court on 31/7/2020 (for the period between June 2015 – May 2016). The rest of the pensioners, whether they applied to the Court after 31/7/2020 or did not apply, will not receive any retroactive benefits. That is, for those who did not file the case before 31/7/2020, their claims for the payment of subsidies and gifts are extinguished by law. Thus the claims of 1,300,000 pensioners who did not file a case until 31/7/2020, in accordance with decisions 1403-7/22, are extinguished by law for emergency reasons.
On ice
However, it is emphasized that the decision of the AED is expected to end the huge legal adventure of the pensioners. Until the decision on gifts was made, the settlement of appeals brought by about 370,000 pensioners, who claim retroactive gifts and the return of cuts in supplemental pensions for 11 months June 2015 – May 2016, frozen.
As the lawyer said Mr. Loukas Apostolidis, “The Administration, the Ministry of Labor and Social Insurance, e-EFKA, the government must respect and implement the decisions of the court. As advocates of this long-suffering social group, repeatedly disturbed and protested the respect and implementation of judicial decisions.
The indifference of the Administration to e-EFKA, the continuation of the legal fight on its part, even though the legal issue has been resolved by the above decisions of the Plenary of the State Council, shows the intention of e-EFKA to be exhausted. each margin for the payment of the said retroactive amount of pensions of supplemental pension paid as well as the abolished holiday and holiday gift allowances.
The administrative courts literally sifted through thousands of cases to adjudicate over 250,000 beneficiaries. Equally unbearable is the burden of insufficient e-EFKA staff for the preparation of court files. In addition, the State is accused of paying excessive interest”.
“We hope that the AED will respond to our request for a short version of the decision. We hope that the political leadership and e-EFKA after the decision of the AED, at least for those who filed cases, will end the torture of the retroactive. I believe, 10 years of suffering of the pensioners in the courts is enough, if the legal issue has been decided since 2015!”, said the lawyer Loukas Apostolidis.