On July 8, 2010, the Greek Parliament approved a basic pension. It is fixed at €360 per month in 2010 prices, paid 12 times a year, will be available with no means test to all those who lived in the country for 35 years between the ages of 15 and 65. It will be pro-rated for those who have lived in the country for less than that time, and available on a means-tested basis for others. The new program, of course, falls short of full universality, but this move could be a step toward a universal basic pension. An article on the creation of a basic pension in Greece will be published in the April 2011 issue of Basic Income Studies. Entitled, “Pathways to a Universal Basic Pension in Greece.” It is written by Manos Matsaganis and Chrysa Leventi, both of the Athens University of Economics and Business.
