Pensioners Union welcome increase in minimum pension

The Union of Cypriot Pensioners (Ekysy) on Tuesday welcomed the move by the government to raise the minimum pension to €710 per month for around 30,000 elderly people.

Labour Minister Zeta Emilianidou on Monday announced that no pensioner would be receiving less than €710 per month after it was decided to raise the allowances given to low-income pensioners, taking all of them above the poverty line.

The move, which will be retroactive for 2020, will cost the state €19m.

However, Ekysy said much more needs to be done to improve the overall standard of living of the elderly and the union has submitted a memo to the government focused on the outstanding issues included abolishing the 12 per cent reduction in monthly pensions if someone retires at 63 instead of 65.

The union also want to see reforms in nursing homes among other quality of life issues affecting pensioners.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.