The exemption of the basic pension from the reduction of 12% penalty for employees who complete 40 years of contributions is included in a proposal presented by the Minister of Labour and Social Insurance, Yiannis Panayiotou, to the Social Insurance Council that met on Friday morning at the Ministry of Labour.

At the same time, the Minister stressed that the proposal is strictly within the capabilities of the Social Insurance Fund (SIF), without affecting its sustainability and without implying an increase in contributions.

"The proposal affects a significant percentage of pensioners who have suffered an actuarial reduction, which constitute almost 25% of the total, through the exemption of the full basic pension from the actuarial reduction for those citizens who meet the criteria that have been set and which focus on the completion of 85% of the insurance period, which amounts to 40 years," he noted.

He added that through the proposal thousands of citizens will benefit directly and gradually hundreds of citizens, while workers in the construction industry, in manufacturing and sales and in general in occupations where people start to be active early, completing many years of contributions.

Panayiotou highlighted that the financial cost of the proposal cannot be increased because it is based on the conclusions of the actuarial study, while the proposal will be the subject of a dialogue with the social partners in the next period, in order to seek the broader possible social consensus.