Welcome to today's press conference, during which we will have the opportunity to present the new Support Scheme for Low Income Pensioners, which was approved by the Council of Ministers on 30 November. This is an important decision, which comes after three other revisions to the Plan preceded in 2016, 2019 and 2020 by this Government, increasing the maximum monthly benefit and ensuring that all beneficiaries have total incomes above the poverty line. The new Scheme, in addition to remedying minor weaknesses that were previously in place, is the culmination of the Government's plan to support low-income pensioners.
Our aim with the new Scheme, which comes into effect from 1 January 2023, is to simplify the application process and timeframes, while maintaining strong safeguards that allow for the targeted award of the Low-income Pensioner's Allowance.
An important parameter of the new Plan is the decoupling of the Low Pensioner's Allowance from the obligation to apply for the Minimum Guaranteed Income at the same time. This provision was causing long delays in the time taken to process applications and pay benefits for both Low Pensioner's Allowance and ESA recipients, as well as confusion for claimants. Therefore, the procedure is amended and simplified with a separate application for the Low Pensioners' Allowance to examine only the application for the Low Pensioners' Allowance.
In this context, in the new Scheme, those Low Pensioners who were receiving the respective Allowance before 2014 and up to the expiry of the extension granted by the Government in 2020 did not exercise their entitlement for their own reasons or due to ignorance will also be able to apply for the Low Pensioners' Allowance. As a result, their applications could not be assessed as potential beneficiaries for the Low Pensioners' Allowance even if they fell within the provisions of the Scheme.
It is important to stress that the more than 30,000 existing beneficiaries already receiving the Low Pensioners' Allowance need not apply or take any other action and will continue to receive the Allowance as normal. This procedure will only apply to new claimants.
In addition, I would remind you that in 2022 the Government made a number of decisions concerning, inter alia, the calculation of income based on income from any pension in the current year of payment of the Allowance instead of the previous year as was the case for other income in the previous year and the exclusion of student grants from the calculation of each household's income for Low Pensioner's Allowance and Easter Allowance purposes.
Dear Friends,
The Anastasiades Government has placed the support of vulnerable groups of the population at the centre of its initiatives with a series of decisions aimed at protecting them from the difficult conditions created by external factors such as the crisis in Ukraine and global inflation.
In particular, for 2022, taking into account the significant price increases in the prices of basic necessities and the fact that the 5.6% increase in pensions by the Social Insurance Services from January 2022 excluded a significant number of beneficiaries from the Low Pensioners' Allowance, it was decided to absorb this increase by the State through savings of the Welfare Benefits Management Service. Under the decision, a total amount of €6.3 million was absorbed in two phases and more than 30,000 beneficiaries (approximately 20,000 households) benefited.
Maintaining the same responsible and prudent policy of supporting the socially vulnerable group of pensioners also for the year 2023, the Budget has foreseen the provision of exceptional grants of €3.7 million through the Easter Bonus and, in addition, an expenditure of €90.5 million for additional grants to pensioners. This expenditure, which in effect adds a similar amount to the income of the low pensioner category, aims to provide assistance to households with at least one pensioner whose income is below the poverty line. I should note at this point that for the year 2022, a total amount of €87.4 million has been paid to grant Low Pensioner's Allowance to more than 30,000 beneficiaries (December 2022).
Ladies and Gentlemen,
What I have mentioned above, as well as the reinstatement of the Christmas Gift, the four-day holiday, the free travel by public transport, are indicative of the Government's will to support our low pensioners. This is the aim of the new Plan and I am confident that it will achieve its main objective, namely to ensure that no low-pensioner receives less than €710 for single households and €1,210 for low-pensioner couples.
I now give the floor to the Head of the Welfare Benefits Administration Service, who will present the most important provisions of the Plan, and then we are at your disposal for any questions.
Thank you for your attention.
(MKυ)
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