Ekysy: Thousands of pensioners under poverty line excluded from Easter allowance

Pensioners’ union Ekysy said the government’s decision to pay a €250 Easter allowance to low-income pensioners was a “conscious exclusion” of ten times more elderly people than those set to receive it.

Ekysy said that just 10,000 low-income pensioners were to benefit from the allowance, while over 100,000 low-income pensioners were in actual fact living below the poverty line.

The union said that the government has ignored repeated calls for criteria in place prior to the financial crisis to be restored.

It added that the income criterion remains €7,000 per year for a single-person household and €12,000 for a couple, while the poverty line has stayed the same since 2013 and is set at €10,324 for single-person households and €15,486 for couples.

This means that thousands of pensioners living under the poverty line are excluded, Ekysy pointed out.

Earlier on Monday, the cabinet approved a €250 Easter allowance for low-income pensioners.

According to the deputy ministry of social welfare, the number of beneficiaries amounts to approximately 10,050 people in 2026, with the total expenditure expected to amount to €2,512,500.