The right to a pension can be exercised either before or after the child reaches adulthood. In order for the Supplementary Insurance Fund for Retail and Commerce Employees to grant a reduced or full old-age pension to an insured mother with a minor child, it is not required that the child still be a minor at the time the pension application is submitted.
According to the provisions of Article 28(3)(d) of Legislative Decree 1846/1951, the conditions for granting a reduced or full old-age pension to an insured mother of minor children under the former I.K.A. (later I.K.A.-E.T.A.M., now part of e-E.F.K.A.) are as follows:
The pension right is established if the insured mother:
- Has at least one minor child
- Has reached the age of 50
- Has completed at least 5,500 working days, and
- Is not already receiving a pension from I.K.A., the public sector, a legal person governed by public law, or any other primary insurance fund.
Furthermore, under the meaning of the above provisions, the pension right may be exercised by submitting the relevant application either before or after the child becomes an adult.
Specifically:
- If the application is submitted before the child reaches adulthood, the insured mother is entitled to a reduced old-age pension, calculated as a 1/200 reduction of the full pension for each month she is under the age of 55.
In this case, the degree of pension reduction is determined based on the date of the application, provided all legal conditions are still met at that time. - If, however, the application is submitted after the child becomes an adult, the pension reduction is calculated based on the last date when all conditions were fulfilled, i.e., the day before the child became an adult.
The same applies even if the pension right is exercised after the insured mother has turned 55.
- If the child is still a minor when the mother turns 55, and all other requirements are met, she is entitled to a full pension.
- If, however, the child had already become an adult, she is entitled to a reduced pension, calculated by the number of months between the child’s adulthood and the mother reaching 55.
Additionally, since the Supplementary Insurance Fund for Retail and Commerce Employees charter does not include specific provisions for granting reduced or full pensions to mothers of minor children, Article 53(1) of Law 2084/1992 applies. This means the conditions set in Article 28(3)(d) of L.D. 1846/1951 apply for the granting of such pensions.
Conclusion:
To receive a reduced or full supplementary old-age pension from the Supplementary Insurance Fund for Retail and Commerce Employees it is not necessary that the child is still a minor at the time of the pension application. Therefore, the pension right may be exercised even after the child has reached adulthood.
This was affirmed by Decision No. 2375/2021 of the Council of State (Supreme Administrative Court), which upheld a decision of the Athens Court of Appeal. The court correctly ruled that a mother of a minor child had the right to a reduced supplementary old-age pension, and this right could be exercised not only before, but also after the child had become an adult.
