P. Doufexis: There is a 10-year limit on the statute of limitations for insurance debts of entrepreneurs

In practice, 200,000 debtors will benefit from the harmonization of the fixed number of e-EFKA with the corresponding number of installments of AADE, according to what the governor of the insurance super-carrier, Mr. Panagiotis Doufexis, reports in an exclusive interview in “Capital” and Capital.gr.

He notes, following the recent announcements of the Prime Minister, Mr. K. Mitsotakis, that a new 10-year limit is imminent in the statute of limitations for the Agency’s claims to businesses, self-employed and freelancers.

Interview with Dimitris Katsagani

To what extent has the digitization plan of e-EFKA services been completed in the last three years?

With 57 active digital services and a multitude of new applications in the pipeline, e-EFKA is closer than ever to its customers, who make up almost the entirety of Greek society. The approximately 2.5 million citizen transactions that take place on a monthly basis, as well as the 4 million online appointments that have been made in the last two years, prove the upgrade that has been achieved in their service.

As an example, I mention the “Digital Communication Room”, which provides the possibility of personalized information to the prospective pensioner. Means of direct communication and interaction in “real time” between citizens and EFKA, which provides the possibility of sending messages and transmitting documents.

Another important service is myefkalive, through which citizens of remote areas, as well as people with disabilities, are served by video call, without the need to travel to an e-EFKA branch.

However, the inconvenience at KEPAs for the disabled is drastically reduced, as from the autumn all disability certification procedures – except for the medical examination – will be done digitally and they will come to KEPAs exclusively and only once to be examined by the health committees.

However, an important project concerning the digitization of paper files is also underway, which will contribute to the quick awarding of pensions and any other insurance claim, with resources from the Recovery Fund.

Of course, despite the significant progress that has been achieved in the digital transformation of the Organization, we are not resting, as our goal remains the complete digitization of the services provided.

How is the clearance of overdue main pension claims progressing under the government’s commitment to clear them by the end of August?

First I will tell you that we are very close to winning the bet of zero arrears in the overdue main pensions, which was considered by many as a “lost cause”. Today the reduction of the problem of overdue pensions is indeed impressive. I should note that the pending main pensions (except international and inflexible) for the years 2016, 2017 and 2018 were zeroed out, in 2021 80.6% of the pension applications submitted were issued, while in the first half of 2022 we have a new record with the issuance 138,946 new decisions. These are the tangible results of a network of actions that includes legislative and digital interventions and better organization.

How will the stock of applications for supplementary pensions be reduced?

From the autumn, the burden will fall on the awarding of overdue supplementary pensions, as the liquidation of the stock of the main pensions will be completed by the end of the summer, which is also a condition for the issuance of the supplementary pension. This practically means that many of our rapporteurs will be released to deal exclusively with supplementary pensions. Today, there are 94,000 overdue supplementary loans pending. For most of them, the final decision on the payment of the main pension has already been issued. In addition, as with the main pensions, the fast track process will be activated.

Since the beginning of the year, there has been a decrease in active arrangements. How will the government deal with this phenomenon?

The prime minister himself, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, responded to this from the floor of Parliament on July 6, announcing the doubling of the installments to 24 for the settlement of insurance debts and the streamlining of the statute of limitations. Specifically, he spoke of:

– The harmonization of the fixed number of the settlement of the debts to the e-EFKA with the corresponding number of installments of the AADE, for the benefit of – in practice – 200,000 of our debtors.

– The new limit of 10 years in the statute of limitations of the Agency’s claims to businesses, self-employed and freelancers.

When will the settlement of the contributions of the concurrently employed and those paid with proof of expenditure proceed?

The process of settling the contributions of these two categories will take place in the fall. For a large part of the insured, the obligation to pay any difference to the e-EFKA will not arise, which will burden them financially, but for those who do, they will be given the option of paying in several installments.

How is the implementation of the new system for recruiting executives (general managers, managers) from the wider public and private sector going?

By the end of the year, it is expected that the announcement will be signed, inviting candidates to submit applications for the advertised positions. In 2023, the crisis-selection of new general managers and directors will begin. It is necessary to address also executives of the private sector in order to deal effectively with the accumulated problems in the Organization.

After 12 months at the helm of the Agency, what do you consider to have been the most significant difficulties you faced?

When I took over the administration of e-EFKA, many warned me that I would sit in the “electric chair”. The Organization maintained a sad lead in complaints to the Ombudsman. The “broken”/downloaded phone was one of the first bad practices, which we tackled radically with the leadership of the Ministry of Labor, putting into operation 1555, which in less than 12 months of operation has answered more than 2.5 million calls.

The big problem of overdue main pensions, about which I spoke to you earlier, is finally being resolved, also due to the outstanding efforts of the Agency’s employees, many of whom were recently awarded at a special ceremony. A brilliant example of such a notable public official was the late Kostas Kourkoulos, former director of EFKA Patision.

With continuous upgrading of the services provided to citizens and direct response to their ever-growing needs, e-EFKA today practices “social policy in practice”.