PEO union criticizes government proposal for social insurance reform

On November 9, 2026, the General Secretary of the PEO trade union, Sotiroula Charalambous, declared that the government’s proposed reform for the Social Insurance Fund and the low-income pensioner support scheme is inadequate. Speaking after a meeting of the PEO General Council, Charalambous argued that the current proposal fails to effectively combat poverty among retirees.

The union official highlighted that the government plan excludes critical issues such as the 12% actuarial reduction penalty and the adjustment of widowhood pensions for those who lost their spouses prior to 2018. Additionally, the union expressed concerns that the reform introduces more stringent requirements for establishing pension rights, which they claim would prove detrimental to younger generations and future retirees.

This criticism follows recent discussions regarding the broader pension system architecture in Cyprus. PEO emphasizes that the existing proposal ignores systemic distortions and shifts the burden onto future beneficiaries without providing a sustainable safety net for current low-income pensioners. The union is calling for significant revisions to the funding and structural components of the proposed reform before it can be considered acceptable.