Note also that this forecast is subject to upside risks as (i) there is currently a significant number of retirees with outstanding pension payments not accounted for in the projections; and (ii) EFKA revenue collection so far faces numerous challenges and is likely to fall short of the 2017 target. Such budgetary pressures may inevitably have to be relieved via adjustments in certain pensions.
This is because, on the one hand, in some cases pension benefits in Greece remain relatively generous both from a domestic and from an international point of view. Specifically: In several cases, they are high relative to the contributions that have been paid to acquire them.