The most widespread option for thousands of insured workers, mainly in the private sector, is the purchase of notional time. According to social security experts, almost one in two insured people who apply for retirement now makes use of the right to recognize and purchase virtual years of insurance in order to fulfill the retirement requirements.
The option mainly concerns insured people who are 62 years old and must have 40 years of service in order to establish the right to retire earlier than the general age of 67. Therefore, they utilize the time of having children, studies, military service and social security gaps. This trend is reinforced by the new wave of mass retirements recorded in 2026.
According to data from the Labor MInistry’s Atlas data system, during the first four months of the year, a total of 74,838 new retirement applications were submitted, compared to 63,542 in the same period in 2025, recording an increase of 11,296 applications.
In April alone, 16,625 new applications were submitted, while if the current pace is maintained, applications for the entire year may exceed 220,000, marking a new historical high since the establishment of the Single Social Security Entity (EFKA) in the last decade.
