According to the website capital.gr, rejection decisions apply to 15% to 22% of pension applications.
When a pension application is rejected, the original submission date is effectively nullified. This means that the insured person must resubmit the application as soon as possible, because the longer they wait, the more months of retroactive pension payments they will miss.
The reasons why a pension application is rejected or “frozen,” as emphasized by officials from the EFKA (National Social Security Agency), are usually as follows:
- Lack of pension entitlement due to insufficient contribution years or even a misunderstanding of the required retirement age.
- Unpaid debts exceeding the legal limits that can be offset with the pension (the old limit was €20,000, and it has now increased to €30,000).
- Expiration of deadlines (two months) for paying debts that exceed the offset limit, which could lead to a rejection of the application.
- Failure to submit the required resignation from employment or the cessation of activity for self-employed individuals.
- Non-payment of installments or a lump sum for the recognition of fictitious insurance years that would establish pension eligibility.
For more detailed information, please visit the following link: capital.gr article
