Greek-German Association Aiding Greek Immigrants

Around 100,000 Greeks as well as Germans residing in Greece who have in the past worked in Germany, are currently receiving a pension from the German state, while more and more Greeks leaving the country to secure a better future in Germany are often being misled and fall victims to others because of lack of information and proper preparation.

A new organization, set up by people who have spent their lives in Greece and Germany, has been formed to aid people with the procedures of receiving a pension from Germany and settling down in either of the two countries.

The association “Hellenic Silverstars” was created in early 2014 in Thessaloniki, where around 300 Greek and German pensioners from Germany reside. According to Mr. Papadopoulos — the vice-president of the association who is also in the retirement process in Germany — the key priority of the association is offering help to Greeks “who worked in Germany, retired there and returned to Greece.”

“We are supporting people who have begun bureaucratic and judicial procedures with the German state on employment and insurance matters,” Papadopoulos said, underlining also that each year many Greek recipients of German pensions lose cash benefits and privileges due to lack of knowledge on their rights and because of not filing the necessary applications to assert them.

The association, which is to hold its first meeting on May 7 at the Goethe Institute in Athens, has set as a goal to also support the new Greek migration flow to Germany since many Greeks are deciding to seek a better future in the northern European country, thus creating the third generation of Greek immigrants in Germany.