Μake us preferred on Google Some 2.2 million pensioners, people with disabilities and recipients of the uninsured elderly benefit will receive Greece’s annual 400 euros support payment in the last week of November.
This year’s payment comes with a major change. The income and property criteria that previously applied to pensioners have been abolished, so the benefit no longer depends on how much a recipient earns or what their real estate is worth. That widens the pool of eligible recipients considerably.
The age requirement for pensioners remains, however. Old-age pensioners must be at least 65, and those receiving only a survivor’s pension must be at least 60. Both thresholds must have been reached by December of the previous year. For the November 2026 payment, that means by December 2025.
Anyone turning 65 or 60 during 2026 will first qualify in November 2027.
People with disabilities and uninsured seniors who receive the corresponding OPEKA benefit will get the 400 euros regardless of age.
For millions of beneficiaries, the close of 2026 brings two forms of support: the November payment, followed by pension increases taking effect in January 2027 and paid in December. The final size of those increases will depend on inflation and decisions by the government’s economic team.
The United Pensioners’ Network (ENDISY) has sharply criticized the government, calling the policy a “huge injustice” that leaves 350,000 pensioners without a single euro. The group points to a clear age-based inequity. Retirees who left work early under Greek law, for example at 62, must wait until 65 to qualify. Also excluded are children who have lost both parents, and survivor and disability pensioners under 60.
