Working while drawing a Greek pension: the extra levy, the 2026 cap, the exemptions and the fine for not declaring

Since 1 January 2024, a person drawing a Greek old-age or disability pension can take a job, or work for themselves, and keep the whole pension.¹³ The price is an extra levy on top of the normal social-security contributions, and a duty to declare the work before it starts.¹ This guide sets out the rules as the law and the pension fund state them, for pensioners in Greece and for people abroad who draw a Greek pension.

The fund is e-ΕΦΚΑ (Ηλεκτρονικός Εθνικός Φορέας Κοινωνικής Ασφάλισης, Ilektronikos Ethnikos Foreas Koinonikis Asfalisis), Greece's single social-security and pension fund. The rules are in article 114 of law 5078/2023, published in the Government Gazette, the ΦΕΚ (Φύλλο Εφημερίδας της Κυβερνήσεως, Fyllo Efimeridas tis Kyverniseos), on 20 December 2023.¹³ Article 114 replaced article 20 of law 4387/2016, the earlier rule on pensioners who work.¹

Can I work and keep my full pension?

Yes, in most cases. Under article 114 of law 5078/2023, own-right e-ΕΦΚΑ pensioners who take up insured work keep their full main and supplementary pension for as long as they work.¹⁷ "Own-right" means a pension earned on your own work record, as opposed to a survivor's pension.¹

The rule covers old-age pensions, disability pensions from any cause (illness, an accident at or outside work, or an occupational disease), old-age pensions due to disability under law 612/1977, and certain cases under presidential decree 169/2007.¹ Since 1 January 2024, a disability pension can also be awarded without the person having to stop insured work, according to e-ΕΦΚΑ's FAQ.⁷ The law makes no distinction between full and reduced (early) old-age pensions, and the FAQ does not address them.¹⁷

There is one exception. An own-right old-age pension, main and supplementary, is suspended for as long as the pensioner works for a body of general government (Φορέας της Γενικής Κυβέρνησης, Foreas tis Genikis Kyvernisis: broadly the public sector, including central government, local authorities and social-security funds), if they are under 62.¹ No levy is due while the pension is suspended, and the age limit can be adjusted under the law that ties retirement ages to life expectancy.¹ The text of article 114 that we read lists no exceptions to this suspension.¹ Our explainer on Greek retirement ages covers that life-expectancy link.

Until 2024 working pensioners lost part of their pension. The 2016 version of the rule paid their gross pensions «μειωμένες σε ποσοστό 60%» ("reduced at a rate of 60%", in our translation).²³ Law 4670/2020 changed this to pensions «μειωμένες κατά ποσοστό 30%» (reduced by 30%) for as long as they worked.¹¹ Article 114 abolished the reduction and put the levy in its place.¹¹⁶

What extra do I pay?

Working pensioners pay the normal contributions for their kind of work, plus an extra levy to e-ΕΦΚΑ that is "non-contributory": it buys no pension rights.¹⁶ The levy depends on how you work.

• Employees pay 7.7% of their insurable earnings for main insurance plus 2.3% of their insurable earnings for supplementary insurance, and the employer pays no share of it.¹ΕΛ e-ΕΦΚΑ's press release of 26 February 2024 puts the total at 10% of gross pay.⁵ Employees with no supplementary insurance pay the 7.7% only.⁴
• The self-employed and freelancers, and farmers who are not exempt, pay 50% of the main-insurance contribution class they have chosen.¹⁵ If they are also in supplementary insurance, they pay 40% of the main class plus 40% of the supplementary class instead.¹
• Salaried engineers and lawyers pay 7.7% plus 40% of their supplementary class.¹
• People paid with vouchers pay 10% of the net value of a services voucher (ΠΠΥ, Παραστατικό Παρεχόμενων Υπηρεσιών, Parastatiko Parechomenon Ypiresion), 7.7% plus 2.3% of the value of an εργόσημο (ergosimo, work voucher) of the former ΙΚΑ (Ίδρυμα Κοινωνικών Ασφαλίσεων, Idryma Koinonikon Asfaliseon, the former private-sector employees' fund), or 10% of the fees paid by an εργόσημο of the former ΟΓΑ (Οργανισμός Γεωργικών Ασφαλίσεων, Organismos Georgikon Asfaliseon, the former farmers' fund).¹

A pensioner with several jobs pays the levy separately on each one.¹ Employers report working pensioners and the levy on the ΑΠΔ (Αναλυτική Περιοδική Δήλωση, Analytiki Periodiki Dilosi), the monthly payroll contributions return, under separate codes in use since 1 January 2024.⁴

An employee in supplementary insurance who draws a Greek pension and earns €1,000 gross a month pays, by our calculation, €100 a month in levy on top of normal contributions.

That example follows from the 10% rate in e-ΕΦΚΑ's press release.⁵ Self-employed pensioners and farmers who leave contributions and levy unpaid for more than two months have the debt withheld from all the pensions they receive.¹

People who have applied for a pension and keep working pay the levy too.¹ If the application is refused, or the pension starts later, the levy paid unduly is refunded.¹

Is there a cap on the levy?

Yes. The levy for a year cannot exceed 12 times the national pension, and anything paid above that is refunded after a settlement.¹ e-ΕΦΚΑ gives the cap as €5,114.04 for 2024, €5,236.68 for 2025 and €5,362.44 for 2026.⁶⁴

By our calculation, the 2026 cap equals €446.87 a month, and an employee paying 10% reaches it at gross insurable earnings of €53,624.40 for the year. A refund of levy paid above the cap is claimed through an e-ΕΦΚΑ e-service for annual settlement.⁶

Who pays no levy?

Some working pensioners still pay normal contributions but no levy.¹⁶ Article 114 lists:

• all disability pensioners;¹
• people with a mental disability under article 23 of law 4488/2017;¹
• pensioners under law 612/1977, and the cases under presidential decree 169/2007;¹
• recipients of the εξωιδρυματικό επίδομα (exoidrymatiko epidoma), an allowance for people with disabilities who live outside an institution, or of the equivalent allowance under article 54 of presidential decree 169/2007;¹
• πολύτεκνοι (polyteknoi), parents of large families, with at least one child who is a minor, is in higher or tertiary education until they turn 24, or cannot work at all;¹
• persons covered by article 4(3) of law 4387/2016.¹

A further group pays no contributions and no levy, and earns no pension credit.¹ It covers former OGA pensioners doing farm work, and pensioners whose annual income from farming, beekeeping, livestock, poultry or fishing is no more than €10,000.¹⁵

Exempt pensioners must still declare their work, and must also declare the exemption.¹⁶

How do I declare my work, and what is the fine?

Own-right pensioners must declare insured work to e-ΕΦΚΑ before they start it.¹⁷⁸ The declaration is made online through e-ΕΦΚΑ's "Δήλωση Απασχόλησης Συνταξιούχων" (pensioner employment declaration) service, using TAXISnet credentials, the login for Greece's online tax services.⁵¹⁰ The platform went live on 26 February 2024.⁵

Not declaring incurs a penalty equal to 12 monthly pensions, main and supplementary.¹ΕΛ Article 114 allows the debt to be recovered by withholding up to a quarter of the main pension, and up to a set amount from the supplementary pension, or else through the public-revenue collection code.¹ΕΛ By our calculation, a pensioner whose main and supplementary pensions total €900 a month would face a fine of €10,800.

Does the new 10% withholding rule apply to this fine? The law does not say so. Capital.gr reported on 18 June 2026, at the bill stage, that the withholding for undeclared work would fall to 10% of the pension under a bill from the Labour Ministry (Υπουργείο Εργασίας και Κοινωνικής Ασφάλισης, Ypourgeio Ergasias kai Koinonikis Asfalisis).²¹ The bill became law 5316/2026, published on 6 July 2026.²¹²² Its article 43 sets withholding at a tenth of the monthly pension after legal deductions, with a minimum of €50, for benefits that e-ΕΦΚΑ paid unduly and charged after 6 July 2026.²² Article 43 says nothing specific about working pensioners, and article 114 still allows withholding of up to a quarter of the main pension.²²¹ Our guide to the 10% rule for pension overpayments sets out what article 43 covers.

Does working raise my pension later?

Yes, through the contributions, not the levy.¹⁷ The insurance time a pensioner builds up while working is used to increase the pension already paid, main or supplementary, and for an additional lump sum.¹ The pensioner applies after stopping work, and the increase is paid from the first day of the month after the application.¹ The levy counts for nothing towards the increase.¹

larissanet.gr reported on 9 July 2026 that 10,278 pensioners already receive a work-related increase, a figure ot.gr repeated on 18 September 2026.¹⁸¹⁷ Neither outlet gave the date of the underlying data.¹⁸¹⁷

A plan to recalculate working pensioners' pensions every five years, without them having to stop work, is a proposal, not law.¹⁹²⁰ politica.gr reported on 3 February 2026 that e-ΕΦΚΑ and the ministry were examining it, and ot.gr described it as still under examination on 18 September 2026.²⁰¹⁷ We found no bill.¹⁷

What about survivors' pensions?

Article 114 covers only own-right pensioners, so survivors' pensions follow a different rule.¹ Until August 2026, a surviving spouse who worked, was self-employed or drew another pension had the main e-ΕΦΚΑ survivor's pension cut by 50% once three years had passed, and e-ΕΦΚΑ's FAQ, last updated on 7 May 2025, still describes that cut.⁷²⁴ Article 91 of law 5322/2026, published in the Government Gazette on 24 July 2026, ended those cuts for main survivor's pensions under law 4387/2016, from the pensions due for September 2026.²⁴ Our guide to survivor's pensions explains the change.

I work abroad, or my pension is foreign: does this apply?

e-ΕΦΚΑ old-age and disability pensioners who work in the EU, the EEA, Switzerland, the UK or a country with a bilateral social-security agreement do not declare that work on the platform.⁹ Instead, e-ΕΦΚΑ's FAQ tells them, in our summary, to inform the service that pays their pension, as named in their award decision.⁹

People living in Greece whose pension comes only from an EU, EEA, Swiss, UK or agreement country do not need to declare their work in Greece on e-ΕΦΚΑ's platform, according to the FAQ.⁹ The FAQ does not cover Greek residents working remotely for foreign employers, or work in countries without an agreement.⁹

On tax, Greece's income tax code (ΚΦΕ, Κώδικας Φορολογίας Εισοδήματος, Kodikas Forologias Eisodimatos) puts wages and pensions in the same category of income.¹² For anything beyond that, check with an accountant or ΑΑΔΕ (Ανεξάρτητη Αρχή Δημοσίων Εσόδων, Anexartiti Archi Dimosion Esodon), the tax authority. Pensioners abroad may also want our guide to the €400 payment and 2027 pension rise.

How many pensioners work?

e-ΕΦΚΑ figures for September 2026, reported by three outlets on 4 October 2026, put declarations of work by pensioners at 354,131.¹³¹⁴¹⁵ These are declarations, not people: one pensioner can hold more than one.¹³ The same reports said about 36,000 pensioners had declared work before 31 December 2023.¹³¹⁴¹⁶ We found no e-ΕΦΚΑ publication of the figures, and by our calculation the subtotals the outlets give do not add up to the total, so we do not give a headcount.¹³¹⁵