PEO union criticizes government pension reform proposal

On November 9, 2026, the General Secretary of the PEO trade union, Sotiroula Charalambous, announced that the union officially deems the government's current proposal for Social Insurance Fund reform and low-income pensioner support as inadequate. Following a meeting of the PEO General Council, the leadership stated that the plan fails to effectively address poverty among existing retirees and overlooks critical issues such as the 12% pension penalty and survivor benefits for those whose spouses passed away before 2018.

The union contends that the proposal is particularly detrimental to future generations. Specifically, it criticized the government's approach of funding current pension increases at the expense of future beneficiaries through harsher eligibility criteria. PEO explicitly rejected this philosophy, labeling it as neither progressive nor socially equitable. The organization argued that the reform should focus on ensuring dignified pensions for all and strengthening the public, universal nature of the social security system.

PEO has demanded that the government withdraw the problematic provisions and provide adequate direct funding to improve pension levels rather than offloading costs onto the younger workforce. The union is calling for substantial improvements to the legislative proposal before it is formally submitted to the Parliament for review.