Social security spending in Greece for the first eight months of 2018 reached 16.918 billion euros, down from 17.059 billion euros during the corresponding period of 2017, down by 0.82 percent or 141 million euros.
For all of 2018, the labor ministry forecasts social security spending at roughly 25 billion euros in the a country of 11 million residents. Such a result would mean less spending, by 315 million euros from the initial figure cited in the 2018 state budget.
The figure also includes the cost of covering arrears for new pensioners – retroactive benefits – with the number of applications for new pension exceeding 43,000 by July 31, 2018.
