Expanding Supplementary Pensions: Getting the Sequence Right

Policy Brief No. 3 of the Evidence-Based Pension Policy Series.This bilingual English–Greek policy brief examines how Greece can expand supplementary pension participation through better policy sequencing. Drawing on a 2026 stakeholder survey (N = 68) and comparative evidence from Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and the European Union, it argues that incentive size alone is insufficient. Effective reform requires better-designed tax incentives, employer-based distribution, payroll integration and auto-enrolment, with PEPP and other cross-border solutions serving as complementary rather than substitute mechanisms. The brief proposes five priorities for policy design: reforming tax incentives, strengthening employer-based channels, introducing auto-enrolment, sequencing national reform before EU-level products, and evaluating reforms against actual participation outcomes.