A delegation of the Union of Cypriot Pensioners (E.KY.SY.) had a meeting on Friday with the Minister of Labor Mr. Marino Mousioutta, during which a series of serious problems that negatively affect the lives of pensioners were discussed.
According to a related announcement, these problems were recorded at the last Pan-Cypriot Conference of the Organization, held on September 30, 2025, and a relevant memorandum was sent to the President of the Republic.
For this reason, E.KY.SY. requested and held a meeting with the Minister of Labor to discuss the issues that fall within the Ministry’s responsibilities.
The EKYSY delegation, headed by General Secretary Eftychios Papamichael, raised as the first and key issue the upcoming pension reform, stressing that its main goal must be to ensure adequate and decent pensions for all retirees.
Special emphasis was given to:
In the demand to abolish the 12% penalty for those who retired or will retire at the age of 63.
The state’s large debt to the Social Insurance Fund and its investment policy.
Men’s widow’s pension
The meeting was also attended by a delegation of the Struggle Committee, which was elected by a meeting of male widows wronged under the current legislation. The delegation of E.KY.SY. and the members of the Commission strongly demanded the removal of the injustice suffered by male widowers, as the existing regulation essentially divides them into “fortunate” and “unfortunate”, depending on the date of death of their spouse, taking into account that those who lost their spouse before 1/1/2018 are not entitled to a widow’s pension.
It was emphasized that this provision violates the principle of equality and related provisions of the Constitution, creating gross unequal treatment between citizens.
In addition, they discussed:
Issues concerning the social card and the rights derived from it, with a request for the extension of the benefits and its timely dispatch to the beneficiaries.
The need to speed up application examination procedures and end the delays observed in statutory pensions, as well as in the cases of the social pension, especially for people who have worked abroad.
The need to provide substantial assistance from government agencies and local government to the elderly, especially in matters of electronic submission of applications and payments.
The serious problem arising from the operation of the Subsidized Holiday Scheme for pensioners, with a request to increase the relative budget and improve the income criteria, in order to increase the limited number of beneficiaries. At the same time, it was underlined that the Plan must operate in a fair manner, so that the beneficiaries are not created depending on the speed of submission of the application and the exhaustion of the fund.
The Minister of Labor indicated that several of the issues are in the context of the broader debate on pension reform and for this reason he did not specifically position himself on the issues.
Regarding the men’s widow’s pension, the Minister stated that, after studying and examining all aspects of the issue, he will come back soon to inform the EKY.SY.
The Union of Cypriot Pensioners will continue to closely monitor the development of the above issues and fight consistently for the defense of the rights and dignity of all pensioners.