There will be no reductions in pensions under the planned pension reform, and all pensioners will receive an increase, Labour Minister Marinos Mousiouttas assured on Tuesday, as the government works towards submitting the legislation to parliament in September.

“There is no such possibility,” Mousiouttas stressed when pressed on reports that certain higher pensions could be reduced as part of the reform.

He explained that an option considered during the early stages of the process had involved cuts of around 5 per cent to the highest pensions paid by the Social Insurance Fund.

However, Mousiottas admitted that the proposal was abandoned following opposition from social partners.

“We immediately ruled out this possibility,” Mousiouttas said, adding that the options now under consideration contained “no element of reduction”.

“Everyone will have some increase. Some smaller and some larger,” he said.

The minister said the draft bill was being finalised following consultations with Finance Minister Makis Keravnos last Wednesday and President Nikos Christodoulides on Friday.

He said he hoped the bill would be ready by Friday, yet if that timetable was not met, he said it would “certainly” be handed over before the labour advisory board meeting next Wednesday and released for public consultation at the same time.

The government intends to submit the first pillar of the reform to parliament during its first plenary session after the summer recess, expected on September 20.

The first pillar concerns the Social Insurance Fund, including pensions, the minimum pension and the 12 per cent penalty for early retirement.

The timetable has been criticised by trade unions, who have questioned whether there is enough time to examine and discuss the bill before it proceeds to the House.

Mousiouttas said the divergences between the government and unions were “not insurmountable” and that the ministry remained open to proposals that stayed within the framework of the reform.

“If there is something that moves within the philosophy of the legislation and does not change the economic data, we are ready to adopt it,” he said.

He warned that proposals requiring additional spending would have to include corresponding savings elsewhere, saying the Social Insurance Fund’s resources were “not inexhaustible”.

Discussions are also continuing on the second pillar, concerning provident funds, with the next technical committee meeting scheduled for September 1.

Mousiouttas said the government hoped to reach a framework agreement on the second pillar but stressed that such an agreement was not a condition for the first pillar to proceed.