The amended bill on pension reforms is expected to be delivered to the social partners on Friday, with Labour Minister Marinos Mousiouttas hoping that the government will be able to send it to the cabinet and then to parliament the soonest possible.
Mousiouttas chaired a labour advisory body meeting on Thursday, after which he said it was one of the “most interesting” he had attended, with discussions being held in an “exceptionally good climate”.
The aim remains for the new reforms to come into force on January 1, 2027. Mousiouttas said he was optimistic this could be achieved.
The minister said the Cyprus chamber of commerce and industry (Keve) had already sent in its positions and the employers’ union (OEV) was expected to do so shortly, reminding that changes can also be made while the bill is under discussion at the House.
All positions must be submitted in writing by October 20.
The labour advisory body will be meeting again before the end of October. On October 27 the positions submitted by the social partners will be discussed and on October 29 talks on the provident funds will begin.
Mousiouttas said the bill had not yet been sent to the cabinet pending a final opinion by the Law Office of the Republic.
Any further disagreements, he said, could be solved during the discussion of the bill by the House.
On Thursday, discussions focused on the 12 per cent penalty on early retirement at 63. Mousiouttas said the social partners presented their positions and that for any solution one must taken into account the financial capabilities of the social insurance fund.
They also discussed increases to low pensions, with Mousiouttas explaining that the proposal of increasing them to the poverty threshold of €1,130 would be costly. “We did not take a stance. We will look at our actuarial studies again to see if anything can be changed,” he said.
Other issues discussed were widowers’ pensions for men who lost their wives before January 1, 2018, and the provident funds. The issue of dividends was also discussed, which Mousiouttas said would allow people to receive a fairer pension.
Mousiouttas also said that, through the reforms, the pensions would be improving and any examples given would be updated once the House passes the bill. Nevertheless, low pensions were expected to get a rise of 34 per cent and the pensions for medium incomes 11 per cent. According to the examples given, there were no recorded decreases for high incomes.