Pensions and saving in Greece
Greece runs its pension in layers. Most future income comes from the state system, but the part that depends on what you actually paid in matters more each year — and a newer funded auxiliary fund (TEKA) now invests younger workers’ contributions in the markets. Knowing which layer does what shows where your own saving should fill the gap. Figures here are current as of 2026; pension rules change often, so confirm anything load-bearing on the official portals before acting.
- Learn the layers. The state pillar (e-EFKA) pays a tax-funded “national pension” plus a contributory main pension based on your earnings and insured years. On top sits an auxiliary pension (επικουρική), and for many newer workers that auxiliary layer is the funded fund TEKA.
- Check which auxiliary scheme covers you. Anyone who first entered the labour market from 1 January 2022, and everyone born after 1 January 2004, is in TEKA — a funded, defined-contribution scheme. Workers insured before then generally stay in the older pay-as-you-go auxiliary system.
- Know the contributions. For the main pension the rate is about 20% of pay, split roughly 6.67% employee and 13.33% employer (as of 2026). TEKA adds about 3% from the employee and 3% from the employer. Self-employed people pay fixed monthly contribution classes instead of a percentage.
- Plan the top-up. The state replaces only part of your final salary, so estimate the gap and fill it with your own saving — an emergency buffer first, then long-term investing for retirement.
What matters
Greece’s pension system was rebuilt after the 2010s reforms, and it now stands on three layers that work very differently. The first layer is the state pension paid by e-EFKA, the single main social-security fund created by merging the older funds. It has two pieces: a flat “national pension” funded from taxation, worth €436.30 a month for a full record in 2026, and a “main (contributory) pension” that grows with your insured years and your career earnings. A full record means 20 years of insurance and 40 years of residence in Greece for the national part, while the main pension rewards longer careers, with the full contributory benchmark set around 40 years. The second layer is the auxiliary pension (επικουρική). For older workers this is still pay-as-you-go inside e-EFKA. For newer workers it is TEKA, the funded fund launched in 2022: compulsory for anyone first insured from 1 January 2022 and for everyone born after 1 January 2004, with a voluntary opt-in window that applied to some under-35s. TEKA contributions — about 3% from the employee and 3% from the employer — go into a personal, invested account, so the eventual auxiliary pension reflects what was paid, the investment returns, and average life expectancy. This is the “capitalisation” reform people refer to: part of the system is shifting from purely redistributive to partly funded. The third layer is your own saving. Because the state and auxiliary pensions together replace only part of a typical final salary, private saving and investing is what closes the gap. In 2026 the system also saw a 2.4% across-the-board increase to roughly 2.5 million pensioners, and the long-criticised “personal difference” (which had frozen increases for many) is being phased out — partly in 2026 and fully from 1 January 2027. These adjustments matter for current pensioners but do not change the basic lesson for savers: the more years you contribute and the more you set aside yourself, the larger your retirement income.