Labour ministry amendment to hand out an emergency benefit by April 21

A labor ministry amendment tabled in the Greek Parliament, attached to the health ministry’s bill to ratify the Stavros Niarchos Foundation donations, outlines the terms and conditions for handing out an emergency benefit to be paid to vulnerable groups (low-income pensioners, people with disabilities, uninsured elderly persons and those receiving the Minimum Guaranteed Income or Child Benefit) to help them cope with the current wave of high prices.

The benefit is to be paid before Easter, specifically by April 21, following the relevant announcement made by the Greek Prime Minister, Mr Kyriakos Mitsotakis, earlier in March.

The total amount to be handed out is 324 million euros with an estimated 1.7 million beneficiaries. The measures will help roughly 1.4 million households with more than 3.2 million members.

In order to qualify, applicants must have an annual individual income of less than 7,200 euros or a family income that does not exceed 14,400 euros. The total value of any real estate property owned by the household cannot exceed 200,000 euros, they must reside and pay taxes in Greece and they must have paid taxes in Greece in the year 2020.

The amount of the benefit will be 200 euros, irrespective of the number of a person’s dependents. If both spouses qualify, they will both receive it. It will be tax free, not seizable and cannot be offset against other debts.

The 200-euro one-off benefit will also be paid to those receiving disability pensions, uninsured elderly persons on social solidarity benefit.
If an individual qualifies for the benefit in multiple ways (for example, as a pensioner and disabled person), they will only receive the benefit once.
For those on Minimum Guaranteed Income, in April they will receive double the usual amount, while those on child benefit will receive 1.5 times the usual monthly child benefit.