Family allowances: How many will be cut, who will be cut – 2024-10-07 20:38:49

Cuts in family allowances set the new presumptions for freelancers, while from 2025, in addition to the income criteria, assets will also be applied for owners of cars, real estate, deposits, etc.

According to data available to the OT, it appears that this year more than 100,000 families seem to lose or significantly reduce the family benefits they received until last year.

The reason? The application of the minimum presumptive income determination to professional, self-employed, sole proprietorships.

The figures are indeed revealing and it remains to be seen if anything will change by the end of the year.

Family allowances for freelancers

Specifically, last year in September, approximately 635,000 families had received family allowance. A few days ago, on September 30, the beneficiaries of family allowances were 521,724 according to the official announcement of OPECA. The difference on an annual basis is approximately 114,000 fewer beneficiaries.

This fact if these figures hold until the end of the year clearly proves that the biggest cutter the government has put on family benefits is the minimum presumptive income for professionals.

Cutters to everyone from 2025

However, the cutters will continue and will even be strengthened from 2025. According to exclusive information from OT, from the new year the property value limit to receive family allowance will be set at 220,000 for a family with 2 children, which may lead families who have a main residence and a family home in the village to be automatically excluded from benefits.

At the same time and in combination with the income criterion as well as that of real estate, the car or cars owned by a family as well as the deposits it keeps in the bank will be taken into account. From these measures alone, it is estimated that 2 out of 10 current beneficiaries may lose them.

The scripts

In any case, according to the same information, the competent Minister of Social Cohesion and Family Mrs. Sofia Zaharakis is examining all the scenarios for imposing the new criteria so that families who really need the benefits in question and who in all cases provide financial support are not left out respite for hundreds of thousands of families to bear the blows they have received due to prolonged punctuality and stagnant incomes.

It is so important to make the right decisions with the new income and property criteria that the government is in no hurry to decide on this and any decisions have been postponed until the end of October and in fact these will be approved by the cabinet to then be included in a relevant bill.

However, an important addition is that in the case of someone who is employed, 80% of his income should be taken into account and not 100% so that he can receive a family allowance for the first time or even a higher allowance than what he receives now if he is a beneficiary. This, of course, on the condition that he will not be caught by the other criteria – cutters.

No retroactive effect

It is noted that the new movable and immovable property criteria will not have retroactive effect, i.e. they will not apply to this year’s benefits but will apply from January 1, 2025. her family, deposits, stocks and bonds, houses, plots of land, plots of land, yachts, etc.

It is noted that from April 2025 50% of the family benefits will be paid through a prepaid card and the rest deposited into a bank account, while in addition to the prepaid cards some lotteries will be held so that 8 million euros will be distributed to encourage the measure .

The OT presents the new annual and monthly family allowances based on the new consolidated income criteria as they have resulted from the consolidation of the 2nd and 3rd category. In all cases they are increased, but as mentioned above, it remains to be seen who will continue to receive them and who will be left out.

Source OT