Pension applications in the first months of the year have reached 123,000, putting pressure on authorities and raising fears that 2025 could surpass the record highs of 2021 and 2022. With applications already on track to exceed those of 2023 and 2024, officials are working to prevent a new backlog that could undermine recent progress in processing times.
Rising Numbers and Past Comparisons
The volume of pension requests is climbing steadily. In 2021 and 2022, applications topped 212,000 annually, before dropping slightly to 190,368 in 2023 and 197,228 in 2024. Current figures suggest 2025 will once again approach or exceed peak levels, intensifying concerns about delays and administrative bottlenecks.
Processing Delays and Pending Cases
Despite efforts to streamline procedures, thousands of applications remain unresolved. By the end of July, 15,000 main pensions and around 31,000–32,000 auxiliary pensions had been pending for more than 90 days. Officials expect a slight rise in these numbers as many employees at EFKA, the national social security agency, take holidays during August.
Deputy Labor Minister Anna Efthymiou emphasized that the average approval time is now about 50 days. However, complex cases—such as individuals with employment across multiple sectors or countries—continue to extend the timeline.
Digitalization Challenges
Another major obstacle is the lack of a fully digitized database. Currently, only 51% of EFKA’s archive—equivalent to roughly 27 million pages—has been digitized. Authorities expect the remaining records to be completed by early 2026. Until then, reliance on paper-based records continues to slow processing, especially for cases requiring detailed verification.
With pension applications already at 123,000 this year and poised to exceed previous years’ levels, pressure is mounting on the social security system. While average approval times have improved, backlogs remain, and the limited progress in digitization hampers efficiency. Unless processing capacity is strengthened, 2025 may bring renewed challenges for pension applicants and administrators alike.
