Time running out for pension reform bill

The government is running out of time to submit its pension reform bill to parliament before the Christmas recess, Labour Minister Marinos Mousiouttas acknowledged on Saturday, although he remained confident that the reform could take effect in January 2027. Mousiouttas said the bill would be submitted to the Council of Ministers once the legal service completed its review, before being forwarded to parliament. “We are awaiting the opinion of the legal service. As soon as it is ready, we will go to the cabinet and parliament,” he said, acknowledging that he had hoped to submit the legislation sooner. Despite the narrowing timeframe, the minister insisted that the government could still meet its target of implementing the reform from January 2027. Related Articles • Pension ‘reform’ won’t solve the big problem, says expert • Labour minister hopes pension reform to be sent to next cabinet meeting “I believe that we can,” he said. He added that the ministry would be able to respond quickly to any amendments proposed by MPs, although there was limited scope for changes with financial implications. “The changes they may want are of a financial nature, for which there is not much room,” he said. Turning to discussions with the social partners, Mousiouttas said consultations on the first two pillars of the reform, had been completed at the Labour Advisory Body. He said he did not “intend to reopen those discussions unless new issues arose,” or the social partners submitted a proposal compatible with the financial capabilities of the fund. The debate would now move to parliament, he added. Meanwhile, discussions on the second pillar, concerning provident funds, are continuing, with the Labour Advisory Body due to resume its weekly meetings on November 9. Mousiouttas said the aim was to reach a compromise between employers and trade unions, with two major disagreements already identified. The first concerns whether participation in provident funds should be voluntary or mandatory, while the second relates to whether existing provident funds should be included in the reform. The minister also addressed the unions’ demand for an agreement and a roadmap on provident funds before parliament votes on the legislation covering pillars zero and one. He said the decision on whether to proceed under those conditions rested with parliament. Mousiouttas noted that discussions on provident funds had already been taking place at technical committee level before being brought before the Labour Advisory Body. He said the government would present its position at the next meeting and expressed hope that sufficient progress would be made before parliamentary discussions on the reform began. “With good will, the issues can be overcome,” he said.