retirement

• POPULAR REGION: PELOPONNESE

• LIVING COSTS

With around 1000-1500 EUR, depending on the region and requirements, you can live well in the Peloponnese. The cost of living is on average 50% cheaper than in Central European countries. The choice of place of residence understandably determines the costs incurred.

• IMMIGRATION

Europeans enter Greece easily with their ID card or passport. There are special VISAs for so-called third countries, and we can provide individual advice here. If you want permanent residence, you must apply for a so-called residence card after three months. This usually takes place at the local police or immigration office. To immigrate to Greece, sufficient financial resources (tax assessment, pension assessment, private assets, etc.) must be available to issue the residence card.) be detected. When you register for the first time you receive a yellow residence card, and after 5 years you receive a blue permanent residence card.

• HEALTH INSURANCE

1. LEGALLY INSURED: Within the EU, there are social security agreements between the member states. This offers the following advantages:  European pensioners who want to live permanently in Greece must submit an application to their health insurance company for health benefits abroad, but remain insured in their original health insurance company. Once approved, foreign pensioners receive health services free of charge, which also apply to locals.
2. PRIVATE INSURED: Pensioners who are privately insured in Germany and would like to live permanently in Greece should clarify this individually with their private health insurance company.
3. GRANTY + PRIVATE INSURANCE: Covering health costs is somewhat different for pensioners. You can obtain this information from the relevant authority in your federal state.

The quality of medical care is guaranteed in all cases. In addition, you can find pharmacies everywhere in Greece, even in the smallest village, which are all marked with a green cross. Medicines are generally cheaper in Greece.

• PENSION RECEIPT

A German pension can easily be transferred to a Greek bank account. As part of the SEPA area in the EU, domestic transfers take just as long as transfers from Germany to Greece. This means that pension payments can also be maintained in Germany.

Paying bills such as rent, electricity, insurance is possible with a German bank account. A large number of cash machines (ATM), even if there is no bank on site, guarantees a reliable supply of cash at all times.

If you still want to open a cheap account in Greece, you can, for example, open an account with German deposit protection at a German online bank, provided you live in Greece. We would be happy to advise you on this in more detail.

•  TAXES

According to the double taxation agreement (DTA), Greece is one of the countries that are allowed to tax statutory pensions from Germany if the center of your life is in Greece and you are resident there. In the case of civil servant pensions that come from public funds in the Federal Republic of Germany, the source country of the pension (Germany) has to comply with DBA Art.12 paragraph 3, however, still has the right to tax.

 Source: Agreement DBA

In 2020, Greece introduced a flat tax rate for foreign pensioners. This law stipulates that pensioners who transfer their tax residence to Greece will benefit from a flat income tax rate of just 7 percent for 15 years. One caveat is that pensioners have not been tax residents in Greece for the last five of the past six years. The law is aimed at new emigrants and not at pensioners who already live in Greece.

Pensioners with a small pension in Germany should, however, calculate very carefully whether emigration is even worthwhile for tax reasons. In Germany, for example, there is the basic allowance.As of 2021, this is 9 for single people.744 euros and 19 for married couples.488 euros annual income. If the gross pension is below this amount, no taxes have to be paid in Germany. Accordingly, wealthy pensioners in particular are likely to benefit from the “Happy Retirement Program” in Greece. It applies to all income, including from real estate rentals and dividends.

• CONCLUSION

Emigration to Greece is worthwhile because it is one of the cheapest countries in the European Union. We, the team at We Love Greece Consulting, will be happy to support you in all your matters regarding your emigration and your harmonious arrival in Greece.