The newly-appointed Minister of Justice and Public Order, Costas Fytiris, has formally and permanently renounced his right to a ministerial pension and the accompanying lump-sum payment, according to a written declaration submitted to the Ministry of Finance and the House of Representatives.
The decision, announced on Tuesday, makes Fytiris one of the first high-ranking officials to use new legislation allowing state appointees to voluntarily waive their pension entitlements. In a strongly worded statement, the Minister said his move was rooted in “institutional responsibility and ethical consistency,” adding that he intends to put an end to “inaccurate comments” circulating about his financial benefits.
Fytiris, a retired Rear Admiral who served 40 years in the National Guard, clarified that he will exclusively retain the pension rights earned from his military service. He noted that the value of the ministerial benefits he is renouncing is roughly five times the amount the state would have saved through a mere temporary suspension of his current payments.
“To serve the country, I left the private sector—where my earnings were significantly higher—and have undertaken a very difficult task,” Fytiris stated. He added that his focus remains on meeting public demands for safety across Cyprus, “away from petty considerations.”
The move comes as a 15-day deadline expires for several new cabinet members appointed during the December 2025 reshuffle to decide on their pension status. While the 1997 Pensions Law previously allowed officials to receive multiple state pensions simultaneously, recent public outcry and subsequent legislative reforms have placed immense pressure on the Christodoulides administration to address the issue of “multiple pensions.”
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