Greece's Minister of National Economy and Finance, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, used social media on September 12, 2026, to explain in detail how the government's "Piggy Bank for the New Generation" savings scheme works, addressing what he described as common misconceptions about the programme.
In a video he posted online, Pierrakakis answered a series of questions about the initiative, setting out the mechanics of the state's financial contribution, how the payments increase over time, and the investment returns families could expect by the time a child turns 18.
He rejected the description of the scheme as a simple savings account. He said it is instead a special investment account that parents can open within the first two years of a child's life, with the goal of gradually building up capital until the child reaches adulthood at 18.
How the state's matching contribution works
Pierrakakis then addressed the mechanism of state support, confirming that for every 1 euro a parent puts into the account, the state adds another 1 euro. He said the same matching principle applies whether the deposit is made by a parent, a godparent or a grandparent.
He also corrected the assumption that the maximum annual state contribution is fixed at 1,200 euros. Contrary to that belief, he said, the ceiling does change over time: the initial 1,200 euro figure rises by 10 percent every five years, meaning the state's support grows in stages across the 18 years the account is open.
Total savings could exceed 60,000 euros
Pierrakakis went on to set out the total sums that could accumulate by the time a child reaches adulthood. He said that if the maximum contributions are made every year until the child turns 18, the state's total contribution would come to 24,652 euros. Adding the matching amount deposited by the family over the same period, he said, brings the total accumulated capital from contributions alone to 49,304 euros.
He also dismissed the idea that the benefit is limited to that combined figure. Because the piggy bank is an investment product rather than a plain deposit account, he said the eventual returns mean the final available amount could reach 60,000 euros or even more.
'Investing in the future,' minister says
Closing his presentation, Pierrakakis described the underlying goal of the piggy bank scheme as giving every child a strong financial start. Summing up the philosophy behind the measure, he said the government is not borrowing from the future of its children, but investing in it.
Pierrakakis has served as Greece's Minister of National Economy and Finance after previously holding the digital governance portfolio in earlier governments led by New Democracy. The ministry had already laid out details of the piggy bank scheme in an earlier report published on September 7, 2026, aimed at explaining the programme to parents.
The report on Pierrakakis's clarifications was carried by the Athens-Macedonian News Agency.
