P. Tsakloglou: End to discrimination in the recognition of fictitious years

Clarifications regarding the time and the way of recognizing fictitious years of insurance are given by a circular of the Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Mr. Panos Tsakloglou.

The circular states that from 18.07.2018 there is no longer a difference between the insured of e-EFKA in terms of the time to submit an application for recognition of fictitious years of insurance and its consequences and, since then, it is possible to establish or secure a pension right at a younger age by recognizing fictitious years of insurance, including military service.

The instructions given through the circular come on the one hand in addition to recent and previous instructions of the Ministry to the insured, regarding the exercise of a established or guaranteed right to retire even after December 31, 2021 and on the other hand in response to e-EFKA questions about the possibility recognition of time of military service and establishment of a pension right with conditions of retirement of the previous year.

Specifically, for all the insured of e-EFKA, the application for recognition of fictitious years of insurance can be submitted at any time, earlier or later in the year, the conditions of which they wish to secure and at the latest together with the application for retirement. The period of insurance recognized by this application can be reduced to any previous year, in order to establish or secure the then valid retirement conditions. The above also applies to pending retirement applications.

Therefore, e-EFKA policyholders who by using fictitious years of insurance can establish or secure the right to retire at a younger age are encouraged not to rush to submit the application for recognition or the application for retirement, but can submit these applications together. , even after December 31, 2021.

In detail, the Tsakloglou circular provides that:

A. Legal framework

Those insured who establish a right to retire with conditions that are valid and valid from 01.01.2011 onwards, can submit the application for recognition of fictitious insurance time to establish a right to retirement and / or increase the amount of the pension, at any time before, or after whose retirement conditions they wish to secure, even at the same time as the retirement application, but in no case after the retirement application, provided, of course, that they become retirees with that application.

The right, however, was already a permanent insurance practice in the former State.

The above documents and the right established for them to reduce the recognition of fictitious insurance time at any time, earlier or later, from the date of submission of the application for recognition and until the date of submission of the application for retirement, did not cover the cases of insured persons retirement of the former main insurance companies that have joined the e.E.F.K.A. were not modified in 2010 or 2012 and remained as they were until 18.8.2015.

These cases include, as an indication, insured persons of the former special funds who were subject to the insurance of any main insurance institution until 31.12.1982 and establish a right to retire upon the completion of thirty-five (35) years of insurance, regardless of age limit, provided that in 2012 and remained as it was until 18.8.2015.

In all cases, of course, the maximum possible identifiable fictitious time is, in each case, that corresponding to that year, the retirement conditions of which the insured are secured.

Thus, for the insured who establish the right to retire with conditions that were amended in 2010 and are valid from 1.1.2011, the recognition of the new extended fictitious years is allowed, while the insured who establish the right to retire with conditions that have not changed with law 3863/2010 , can recognize the imaginary times that were valid until 31.12.2010.

With provisions of 2015, which are valid from 19.8.2015 onwards, new retirement age limits are established for all the insured of the former main insurance institutions, who have joined the e-E.F.K.A., while especially for In cases where the legislation in force until the publication of this law did not provide an age limit for establishing a pension due to old age or for the payment of a pension (to the State), the gradual increase begins from the publication of this law with an age limit of 58 years, provided the establishment of a right or the payment of a pension (to the State) is provided with the completion of at least 35 years of insurance, while in any other case with an age limit of 55 years.

In particular, for the cases where from the current legislation until the publication of this law was established the right to retire due to old age or the pension was paid (to the State) without age limit, the determination of the new retirement age is based on Table 1 of law 4363 / 2015, in which the new age is that corresponding to the age of 58 years, in the year in which the insured completes the foreseen insurance period.

Thus, Law 4336/2015 amended the retirement conditions for those insured, whose retirement conditions for those who have joined the e-Ε.Φ.Κ.Α. former main insurance companies were not amended in 2010 or 2012 and remained as they were until 18.8.2015.

B. Recognition of fictitious years for securing / establishing a pension right

From 01.01.2017 the Ε.Φ.Κ.Α. as a single main pension insurance organization, which included almost all the previous main insurance bodies under the responsibility of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and the State.

Within the framework of this single insurance organization and with the aim of establishing a single procedure for the submission of applications for the award of a pension by it, uniform rules of this procedure were provided.

These rules define in a uniform way the issues of submitting a retirement application to the E.F.K.A. (and already e-Ε.Φ.Κ.Α.), to exercise the right to a pension due to old age or death by his insured, the beginning of the right to a pension and the end of the right to a pension.

The new regulation is valid from 7/18/2018 and removes all special or general provisions that otherwise regulated the issue of starting and ending pensions due to old age and death (with a date of death from 7/18/2018 onwards), for all the insured of the members of the E.F.K.A. (and already eE.F.K.A.) former social security institutions and the State.

The application for recognition of fictitious insurance time does not give rise to an independent right to a benefit but extends to the submission of the retirement application to exercise the right to a pension and cooperates with it and its procedure, since it must be submitted at the same time as the retirement application.

Thus, the new regulation in force from 18.7.2018 and the abolition of all special or general provisions that otherwise regulated the issues regulated by this provision, directly affects the insurance practice regarding the submission of the application for recognition of fictitious insurance time.

Following the above and because there was a modification of the retirement conditions for those insured, whose retirement conditions of those who joined the e-Ε.Φ.Κ.Α. former main insurance companies had not been amended in 2010 or 2012 and had remained as they were until 18.08.2015, it appears that, for reasons of equal treatment of all insured members of the e-E.F.K.A. former social security institutions and the State, from 18.07.2018 onwards, there is no longer a difference between them in terms of the time to submit an application for recognition of fictitious insurance time and its consequences, such as the possibility of securing or establishing a pension right at a lower age as a result of fictitious insurance time, including military service time.

The above affect the fulfillment of the retirement condition of completing the insurance period and do not affect the fulfillment of any other retirement conditions.

Therefore, for all the insured of the e-E.F.K.A. retirement conditions they wish to secure, even at the same time as the retirement application, but in no case after the retirement application, provided, of course, that they become retirees with that application. That is, the application for recognition of fictitious insurance time is not required to have been filed in a year prior to the submission of the retirement application, but the insurance time recognized by this application can be reduced to any previous year, even to a time older than 18.07.2018, to establish or secure the then valid retirement conditions.

The maximum, fictitious, recognizable fictitious time is, in any case, that which corresponds to that year, the retirement conditions of which the insured are secured, according to the above. The above also applies to pending retirement applications. The present prevails from 30.5.2018.

* See the circular on the right in the “Related Files” Column