Seventy-one former state and elected officials are collecting more than one public pension, with some entitled to as many as three after serving in different public roles, according to figures presented on Saturday by Accountant General Andreas Antoniades.

This year’s state budget sets aside €5.4 million to cover pensions paid to current and former officials, while a further 26 serving officials, including ministers, MPs and commissioners, receive a monthly pension on top of their existing salary and allowances.

The entitlement stems from the 1997 pensions bill, which allows a public sector employee to retire to take up a role incompatible with their existing position, while still qualifying for a pension from their earlier service, without the usual five year minimum requirement.

An additional pension may also be awarded at a level the cabinet considers fair.

Figures presented by Antoniades to Alpha TV detailed that President Nikos Christodoulides receives a monthly pension of €7,201, alongside a net monthly salary of €9,103 and a tax-free lump sum of €403,237 for one term.

House president Annita Demetriou receives €2,327 a month after one term, rising to €4,117 after two, while ministers, deputy ministers and government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis receive a pension starting at €1,168 a month for 30 months in office, climbing to €3,358 for two full terms.

MPs and religious representatives receive a pension starting at €1,618 a month, rising to €4,449 after two terms, on top of a net salary of €5,286 and travel allowance of €685.

Members of independent commissions receive pensions ranging from €1,407 to €2,058 a month depending on seniority and length of service.

Almost €4 million has been paid out in tax free lump sums to 17 former MPs who either did not seek re-election or lost their seats in May, some of whom also qualify for a pension once they reach the age of 60.

A recent legislative change has since raised the pension eligibility age for MPs and ministers to 65, applying to the newly elected House.

Where an official has held several distinct posts governed by separate pension legislation, they may be entitled to a pension for each role.

Labour Minister Marinos Mousiouttas already receives a pension from his former post as Nicosia municipal secretary, and will also become entitled to pensions from his time as an MP and, eventually, from his ministerial service.

Former Disy leader Averof Neofytou likewise qualifies for a mayoral pension, an MP’s pension and a ministerial pension, though he has for some time arranged for his pension payments to be redirected to charitable organisations.