Greek Auxiliary Pension Fund Reform: Rationale, Institutional Design, and Early Implementation Challenges

P. Mitarachi (), P. Lois (), Y. Stournaras () and G. Gounaris ()
Additional contact information
P. Mitarachi: University of Nicosia, School of Business
P. Lois: University of Nicosia, School of Business
Y. Stournaras: Governor of the Bank of Greece and Member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank
G. Gounaris: Hellenic Republic Ministry of Economy and Finance

Chapter 10 in The Expanding Horizons of Business and Management, Volume II, 2026, pp 231-260 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract The 2021 reform of Greece’s auxiliary pension system introduced a publicly managed, capitalized pillar known as the Hellenic Auxiliary Pensions Defined Contributions Fund (TEKA). Implemented in response to demographic ageing, fiscal vulnerability, and institutional fragmentation, the reform marked a structural departure from the pay-as-you-go logic of the Greek pension landscape. TEKA operates through individual accounts, employs life-cycle investment strategies, and is backed by a state guarantee that ensures a minimum pension floor. This study adopts a qualitative, policy-oriented approach, drawing on legislative texts, actuarial projections, administrative data, and international pension reform literature. It finds that TEKA offers a cautious yet meaningful diversification of the Greek pension system, aligning with European trends while maintaining public-sector control and digital governance. Early challenges include limited publicly disaggregated reporting on voluntary uptake and fiscal transition flows, and the political risk of future reversals. Comparative insights from Sweden, Poland, and Latvia highlight the importance of regulatory coherence and institutional trust in sustaining capitalized schemes. The analysis contributes to broader debates on pension governance, intergenerational equity, and systemic adaptation in ageing societies, illustrating how partial capitalization can coexist with social insurance principles in a constrained fiscal environment.

Keywords: adequacy; Ageing; ageing of the population; auxiliary pension scheme; auxiliary pensions; contributions; defined contribution (DC); demographic; fertility rates; financial risks; fiscal; fiscal sustainability; Greece; Hellenic Auxiliary Pensions Defined Contributions Fund (HAPDCF of TEKA [Greek]); intergenerational; Law 4826/2021; life expectancy; life-cycle strategy; notional defined contribution (NDC); pay-as-you-go (PAYG); pension expenditure trends; pension governance; pension reform; Pension systems; performance-based investment strategies; pillars; public acceptance; social policy; sustainability; sustainability; the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:pscchp:978-3-032-26500-5_10

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.palgrave.com/9783032265005

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-26500-5_10

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Palgrave Studies in Cross-disciplinary Business Research, In Association with EuroMed Academy of Business from Palgrave Macmillan
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().