Greece promised a higher child benefit (Α21) from 2025. The law never changed
In September 2024 Greece's family ministry announced higher child benefit amounts from January 2025, with the biggest rise for the top income band. Two years on, the law still sets the 2018 amounts, and this autumn's tax-and-benefits bill, as the ministry summarises it, does not change them.
19We read 19 sources, all in Greek, 6 of them official documents, including the text of article 214 of law 4512/2018, OPEKA's Α21 page and the family ministry's announcement of 12 September 2024, so you can read this in 5 minutes. What we checked ↓
Does this affect you?
- Families receiving Α21 in band 1 (equivalised income up to €6,000)
- Nothing changes. You receive €70 a month for each of the first two children and €140 for the third and each later child; the 2024 announcement would have raised these to €75 and €150. 135
- Families receiving Α21 in band 2 (€6,001 to €10,000)
- Nothing changes. You receive €42 a month per child and €84 for the third and later children; under the announced merger of bands 2 and 3 these would have become €45 and €90. 13512
- Families receiving Α21 in band 3 (€10,001 to €15,000)
- Nothing changes. You receive €28 a month per child and €56 for the third and later children, against the €45 and €90 announced in September 2024, a gap of €17 per child a month by our calculation. 135
What to do There is nothing to claim and no deadline. The 2024 amounts were never written into the law, which still sets €70, €42 and €28 per child, so no payment at the higher rates is legally due. 12
At a glance
- On 12 September 2024 Greece's family ministry announced that child benefit (Α21) would rise to €75 per child in the lowest-income band and to €45 in a merged middle-and-top band, and the minister said the rises would come from the start of 2025. 56
- The rise was never legislated: article 214 of law 4512/2018 still sets €70, €42 and €28 per child a month (€140, €84 and €56 for the third and later children), and OPEKA's page still lists those amounts on 2 November 2026. 123
- Had the plan started on 1 January 2025, a top-band family with one child would have received €374 more by October 2026, by our calculation, which matches NewsIT's. Nothing was legally owed, and the plan also carried new asset tests. 1215
Greek families who receive child benefit, known by its form code Α21, are still paid the amounts set in 2018, although the government announced higher amounts from January 2025.13568 The rise was announced in September 2024 and never written into law.125 The finance ministry's summary of this autumn's tax-and-benefits bill does not mention child benefit.10
What does the law say today?
Child benefit is set by article 214 of law 4512/2018 and is paid by ΟΠΕΚΑ (OPEKA), the Οργανισμός Προνοιακών Επιδομάτων και Κοινωνικής Αλληλεγγύης (Organismos Pronoiakon Epidomaton kai Koinonikis Allileggyis), the state agency for welfare benefits.14 Families fall into three bands of "equivalised" family income, which takes the size of the family into account: up to €6,000, €6,001 to €10,000, and €10,001 to €15,000.23 Band 1 is the lowest-income band and band 3 the highest.2
In band 1 the law pays €70 a month for each of the first two children and €140 for the third and each later child.12 In band 2 the amounts are €42 and €84.12 In band 3 they are €28 and €56.2 OPEKA's Α21 page, checked on 2 November 2026, still lists "70 or 42 or 28 euros" for the first and second child and "140 or 84 or 56" for the third and later children, in our translation.3
For scale, OPEKA approved 497,753 applications covering 856,159 children in the third application cycle of 2026, as reported by Parapolitika and Workenter.1617 Payment dates are in our guide to OPEKA payment dates.
What was announced in September 2024?
On 12 September 2024 the Υπουργείο Κοινωνικής Συνοχής και Οικογένειας (Ypourgeio Koinonikis Synochis kai Oikogeneias), the Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family, announced an overhaul of three benefits: child benefit, housing benefit and the minimum guaranteed income.5 For child benefit, band 1 would rise to €75 per child and €150 for the third and later children.5 Bands 2 and 3 would merge, and the top band would rise from €28 to €45 per child and €90 for the third and later children.5 Band 2 families, now on €42, would therefore also have moved to €45 and €90.512 Πρώτο Θέμα (Proto Thema) and Insider.gr reported the same amounts, and Insider gave 1 January 2025 as the start date.78
On 21 September 2024 the minister, Sofia Zacharaki, said recipients of the three benefits would see "significant increases from the start of next year", in our translation.6
Was it simply a rise?
No: the overhaul came with conditions.5 The ministry said child benefit, which has no asset test today, would get criteria for real estate and movable assets.5 It also said only 80% of wage income would count towards the income limits, as an incentive to work.56 Some families could have moved to a better-paid band under the 80% rule, and some could have been excluded by the asset tests.56 The ministry did not state the income ceiling of the merged band.5
How much more would families have received?
By our calculation, the announced amounts are €5 a month per child higher than today's in band 1 (€10 for the third and later children), €3 higher in band 2 (€6) and €17 higher in band 3 (€34).15 That is a rise of about 7.1% in bands 1 and 2 and about 60.7% in band 3, by our calculation.15
NewsIT, on 1 November 2026, multiplied these gaps over the 22 months from January 2025 to October 2026.12 We reproduced its figures exactly.12 Over those 22 months a family with one child would have received €110 more in band 1, €66 more in band 2 and €374 more in band 3, by our calculation.1512 A band-3 family with five children would have received €136 a month more, or €2,992 over the period, by our calculation.1512
Over 22 months, a band-3 family with one child would have received €374 more had the 2024 plan started on 1 January 2025, by our calculation.15
These are amounts families would have received had the plan gone ahead, not money they lost: the higher amounts were never legislated, so nothing was legally owed.12 NewsIT's headline says families "lost" the money.12 The sums also assume a start on 1 January 2025 and a family that stayed eligible and in the same band, which the new asset tests and the 80% rule might have changed.56
Why was it never paid?
There has been no official explanation that we could find.1314 On 26 February 2025, 16 SYRIZA MPs led by Katerina Notopoulou asked the finance and family ministers why the announced rises to housing benefit, child benefit and the minimum guaranteed income were late, according to Aftodioikisi.gr.9 In March 2025 ΣΚΑΪ (SKAI) reported that the rises to the three benefits were "frozen" while the government weighed tighter eligibility rules.13 In July 2025 Aftodioikisi.gr reported the child benefit rises "on ice", with the government working on a new plan.14
The rest of the package stalled too.15 The minimum guaranteed income was to rise from €216 to €250, with the child supplement going from €54 to €75, but OPEKA's page still sets six-month income limits of €1,296 for a single person, €1,944 for two adults and €2,268 for two adults and a child, which by our calculation is six times €216, €324 (€216 plus €108) and €378 (plus €54 for the child).515
Does the 2027 package change child benefit?
The finance ministry's summary of its ΔΕΘ 2026 bill contains no change to Α21 amounts.10 ΔΕΘ is the Διεθνής Έκθεση Θεσσαλονίκης (Diethnis Ekthesi Thessalonikis), the Thessaloniki International Fair, where the measures in the bill were announced.10 The ministry posted the bill for public consultation on 18 October 2026, open until 1 November.10 We read the ministry's summary, not the bill text, which the consultation site did not let us open.1011
The bill raises the birth allowance for large families by €1,000 per child, to €4,500 for the fourth child and €5,500 for the fifth, for births from 1 January 2026.1018 The ministry says this concerns about 2,500 large families a year.10 The bill also links disability benefits paid by OPEKA and by e-ΕΦΚΑ (e-EFKA), the Ηλεκτρονικός Εθνικός Φορέας Κοινωνικής Ασφάλισης (Ilektronikos Ethnikos Foreas Koinonikis Asfalisis), the national social insurance fund, to GDP and inflation from 1 January 2027.10 The measures list in the 2027 draft budget, as summarised by Taxheaven, includes the birth-allowance rise and no Α21 rise.19
What we checked
Highlights from our fact-check against the original Greek documents. Every claim in the article went through the same check.
- Confirmed
NewsIT calculated that families would have received between €66 and €2,992 more from January 2025 to October 2026, including €374 for a band-3 family with one child 12
We reproduced every figure in NewsIT's table from the current amounts in article 214 and the amounts in the ministry's announcement, over 22 months: for example (€45 − €28) × 22 = €374. The figures assume a 1 January 2025 start and no change in band or eligibility, and nothing was legally owed 1512.
- Confirmed
OPEKA's Α21 page lists €70, €42 or €28 per child and €140, €84 or €56 for the third and later children 3
These are the amounts in article 214 of law 4512/2018 as published in two legal databases. OPEKA's own legislation list shows no later change to the amounts; the last amendment, law 4659/2020, concerned eligibility 124.
What we don't know yet
- Why the September 2024 child benefit changes were never legislated. We found no official explanation, and we do not know whether the SYRIZA MPs' question of 26 February 2025 was ever answered.
- Whether the 2024 plan has been formally dropped or will return, with or without the asset tests, and whether the ΔΕΘ 2026 bill could gain an Α21 amendment before it is voted. We could not read the bill text itself.
- What income ceiling the merged band would have had, and how many families the asset tests would have excluded. Without that, nobody can say how many families would actually have been better off.
- Whether the 2027 budget assumes any change in Α21 spending.
«είκοσι οκτώ (28) ευρώ ανά μήνα για το πρώτο εξαρτώμενο τέκνο, β) επιπλέον είκοσι οκτώ (28) ευρώ ανά μήνα για το δεύτερο εξαρτώμενο τέκνο, γ) επιπλέον πενήντα έξι (56) ευρώ ανά μήνα για το τρίτο και κάθε εξαρτώμενο τέκνο πέραν του τρίτου»
twenty-eight (28) euros a month for the first dependent child, (b) a further twenty-eight (28) euros a month for the second dependent child, (c) a further fifty-six (56) euros a month for the third and each dependent child beyond the third (in our translation)
«Ενοποιείται η δεύτερη και τρίτη εισοδηματική κλίμακα του επιδόματος παιδιού σε μία, και έτσι αυξάνεται το επίδομα παιδιού της τρίτης εισοδηματικής κλίμακας από τα 28 ευρώ ανά τέκνο σε 45 ανά τέκνο και 90 ευρώ για τρίτο παιδί και επόμενα.»
The second and third income bands of the child benefit are merged into one, and so the child benefit of the third income band rises from 28 euros per child to 45 per child and 90 euros for a third child and subsequent ones. (in our translation)
«Αρχικά να επαναλάβω ότι οι δικαιούχοι των τριών επιδομάτων, θα δουν σημαντικές αυξήσεις από την αρχή του επόμενου χρόνου.»
First, let me repeat that the recipients of the three benefits will see significant increases from the start of next year. (in our translation)
Sources
Passage we quote: Law 4512/2018, article 214 (consolidated text)
«είκοσι οκτώ (28) ευρώ ανά μήνα για το πρώτο εξαρτώμενο τέκνο, β) επιπλέον είκοσι οκτώ (28) ευρώ ανά μήνα για το δεύτερο εξαρτώμενο τέκνο, γ) επιπλέον πενήντα έξι (56) ευρώ ανά μήνα για το τρίτο και κάθε εξαρτώμενο τέκνο πέραν του τρίτου»
twenty-eight (28) euros a month for the first dependent child, (b) a further twenty-eight (28) euros a month for the second dependent child, (c) a further fifty-six (56) euros a month for the third and each dependent child beyond the third (in our translation)
- Υπουργείο Κοινωνικής Συνοχής και Οικογένειας · Σοφία Ζαχαράκη: Αναμόρφωση των επιδομάτων και αυξήσεις στα ποσά του Ελάχιστου Εγγυημένου Εισοδήματος, του επιδόματος παιδιού και του επιδόματος στέγης – Δια βίου ορισμός των τριτέκνων για 200.000 οικογένειες · 12 September 2024 · in Greek · Open ↗ · Archived copy
Passage we quote: Family ministry announcement, 12 September 2024
«Ενοποιείται η δεύτερη και τρίτη εισοδηματική κλίμακα του επιδόματος παιδιού σε μία, και έτσι αυξάνεται το επίδομα παιδιού της τρίτης εισοδηματικής κλίμακας από τα 28 ευρώ ανά τέκνο σε 45 ανά τέκνο και 90 ευρώ για τρίτο παιδί και επόμενα.»
The second and third income bands of the child benefit are merged into one, and so the child benefit of the third income band rises from 28 euros per child to 45 per child and 90 euros for a third child and subsequent ones. (in our translation)
- Υπουργείο Κοινωνικής Συνοχής και Οικογένειας · Σοφία Ζαχαράκη στο mononews: Το σχέδιο για το «Σπίτι μου ΙΙ», τα επιδόματα παιδιών και στέγης και το έκτακτο βοήθημα τα Χριστούγεννα · 21 September 2024 · in Greek · Open ↗ · Archived copy
Passage we quote: Interview of minister Sofia Zacharaki with mononews, published by the ministry, 21 September 2024
«Αρχικά να επαναλάβω ότι οι δικαιούχοι των τριών επιδομάτων, θα δουν σημαντικές αυξήσεις από την αρχή του επόμενου χρόνου.»
First, let me repeat that the recipients of the three benefits will see significant increases from the start of next year. (in our translation)
- Πρώτο Θέμα · Μέτρα για την οικονομία: Αυξάνονται ελάχιστο εγγυημένο εισόδημα, επίδομα στέγασης και επίδομα παιδιού - Ποιο το όφελος · 18 September 2024 · in Greek · Open ↗ · Archived copy
- Insider.gr · Στα 250 ευρώ το Ελάχιστο Εγγυημένο εισόδημα - Πόσο αυξάνονται επίδομα παιδιού και στέγασης · in Greek · Open ↗ · Archived copy
- Aftodioikisi.gr · Στη Βουλή οι αυξήσεις σε Επίδομα Παιδιού, Στέγασης & Ελάχιστο Εγγυημένο Εισόδημα · 26 February 2025 · in Greek · Open ↗ · Archived copy
- Υπουργείο Εθνικής Οικονομίας και Οικονομικών · Αναρτήθηκε σε δημόσια διαβούλευση το νομοσχέδιο με τα μέτρα που ανακοινώθηκαν στην 90ή Διεθνή Έκθεση Θεσσαλονίκης και εφαρμόζονται κατά τα έτη 2026 και 2027 · 18 October 2026 · in Greek · Open ↗ · Archived copy
- e-forosimv.gr · Δημόσια ηλεκτρονική διαβούλευση για το σχέδιο νόμου «Ενίσχυση του διαθέσιμου εισοδήματος, της αποταμίευσης και των επενδύσεων…» · 19 October 2026 · in Greek · Open ↗ · Archived copy
- NewsIT · Επίδομα παιδιού: Πόσα έχασαν εκατοντάδες χιλιάδες οικογένειες από τις αυξήσεις που δεν εφαρμόστηκαν · 1 November 2026 · in Greek · Open ↗ · Archived copy
- ΣΚΑΪ · "Παγώνουν" οι αυξήσεις σε 3 βασικά επιδόματα · 21 March 2025 · in Greek · Open ↗ · Archived copy
- Aftodioikisi.gr · Επίδομα παιδιού: Στο «ψυγείο» οι αυξήσεις - Νέο σχέδιο επεξεργάζεται η κυβέρνηση · 1 July 2025 · in Greek · Open ↗ · Archived copy
- Parapolitika · ΟΠΕΚΑ: Πάνω από 497.000 εγκρίσεις για το Επίδομα Παιδιού μετά τον τρίτο κύκλο αιτήσεων - Πότε ανοίγει ξανά η πλατφόρμα · 13 July 2026 · in Greek · Open ↗ · Archived copy
- Workenter · Επίδομα Παιδιού: Εγκρίθηκαν 497.753 αιτήσεις - Πότε ανοίγει ξανά η πλατφόρμα · in Greek · Open ↗ · Archived copy
- Proson.gr · Πολύτεκνοι: Έως και 7.500 ευρώ επίδομα γέννησης από τον ΟΠΕΚΑ · in Greek · Open ↗ · Archived copy
- Taxheaven · Όλα τα μέτρα που περιλαμβάνει το Προσχέδιο Κρατικού Προϋπολογισμού 2027 · in Greek · Open ↗ · Archived copy
Every figure in the text links to its source. Our own calculations are marked as such. Translations from Greek are ours. Archived copies are snapshots saved on the Internet Archive when we published.
Corrections & updates
No corrections to this article. Spotted an error? Tell us. Corrections policy