Tighter checks on benefit claims saved over €1 million

The modernising and upgrading of the Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI) for vulnerable groups is based on three pillars tackling inefficiency, misappropriation of funds, and empowerment of applicants, Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on Tuesday.

Over the past ten months the deputy welfare ministry has succeeded in reducing average processing time for applicants down to 90 days, where in the past wait times of one or two years were common, Letymbiotis said.

The goals is to further speed up the process so that it takes no more than 60 days, he added.

From March 1, 2023 until December 31, a total of 8,239 applicants were processed many of whom had been pending since 2020, Letymbiotis said. For the corresponding period during 2022, a total of 6,769 applicants were examined, an increase of 22 per cent, the spokesman said.

On January 1, 2024, only 1,362 applications were rolled over, while last year there were 5,828, a reduction of 74 per cent in overdue applications.

In terms of addressing fraudulent claims or misuse, the deputy ministry has since July beefed up its oversight unit, carrying out a total of 303 targeted checks on flagged cases, 204 of which were terminated as a result, saving the state an annual €1.7mln, Letymbiotis said.

As for empowering applicants and integrating vulnerable persons into society, Letymbiotis noted that the ministry’s social intervention mechanism has been strengthened, enabling it to offer greater support for applicants to enter the work force, training programmes, and psychosocial support.

“We will continue in our path towards building an up-to-date state which can secure dignified living conditions for all [its] citizens, and improve [their] daily lives,” Letymbiotis said.