Greece's Katruggalos Pension Law Remains in Force Ten Years Later

Greece's Law 4387/2016, known as the Katruggalos law, was enacted in 2016 as part of the third economic memorandum and continues to be the core of the country's pension system. Despite the current government's pre‑election pledges to repeal it, the law's main provisions are still applied, governing the calculation of primary pensions, supplementary pensions and one‑off benefits.

The pensioners' union ENYPECC estimates that, between 2015 and 2025, retirees have suffered roughly €90 billion in real income losses due to the law’s measures and related cuts – about 22 interventions affecting the system. A key change introduced by the law is that pensions are now calculated on earnings over the entire insurance life rather than recent wages, which has led to significantly lower payouts for many private‑sector workers, freelancers, scientists and farmers receiving pensions after 2019. Subsequent legislation, such as the Brought law, retained this calculation method and further institutionalised it.