President signs laws abolishing multiple pensions

President Nikos Christodoulides has signed the laws abolishing multiple pensions for any state officials to be appointed or elected after 2026, rather than referring them to the Supreme Court.

The move came after the House plenum partially accepted the amendments the president had made to their original laws, the latter of which Christodoulides had sent back to the House. The president then decided to accept the compromise rather than refer them to the Supreme Court.

The six laws signed by Christodoulides were published in the official gazette on Thursday.

The main concern now is the possibility of an individual going to court over the provisions of the law, which may lead to it being deemed unconstitutional.

This would not be the first time this had happened, as a similar case arose during the presidency of Demetris Christofias.

The new legislation provides that all future state officials – with a few exceptions decided by the House – will receive their pension at the age of 65 instead of 60.

Furthermore, pensions will not be paid out if an individual assumes a new post. Instead, they will receive €500 from that pension for as long as they are in office.

Christodoulides had made some amendments, however the parliament ruled against several of them.

The government is expected to look into the matter in depth at some point in the future to make sure it is not susceptible to appeals.

The House did not accept the government’s arguments that individuals would be subject to unequal treatment or that the administrative costs would significantly rise due to the new framework.

With the new legal framework, multiple pensions of state officials serving multiple terms are offset, while fundamental rights are maintained.

A number of state officials covered by the Constitution are exempt from this arrangement, as the House does not have the power to affect their rights during an ongoing term.

These officials include judges, the governor of the central bank and the attorney-general.

The Republic’s accountant-general will no longer have the power to decide the manner in which pensions will be allocated. This has been replaced by general regulations for the calculation of pensions.