Greece introduces matched child savings accounts of up to €1,200 annually to support families

The announcement in Thessaloniki

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis presented a new family savings initiative, titled "Piggy Bank for the New Generation", during his address at the 90th Thessaloniki International Fair on Saturday evening, 5 September 2026. The program forms the focal point of a wider package of demographic and family support policies scheduled to take effect in 2027. Speaking at the Vellidion Conference Centre, Mitsotakis described the measure as a way to provide young people with an initial financial base for their adult lives rather than distributing another temporary one-off allowance. Under the framework presented at the fair, parents will have the option to establish a dedicated child savings account during the first two years after birth.

Contribution mechanics and growth projections

The Greek state will provide a 1:1 matching contribution for funds saved by families, up to an annual ceiling of €1,200 per child. If parents deposit €100 each month, their €1,200 annual saving is matched with an additional €1,200 from public funds. The scheme also includes a mechanism to increase the deposit threshold by 10% every five years. Over an 18-year accumulation period, government estimates indicate that an account funded at €100 monthly could reach more than €60,000 in total capital by the time the child reaches adulthood. Mitsotakis announced the specific contribution parameters during his keynote address in Thessaloniki.

We are establishing an account that parents will be able to open within two years of the birth of each child, in which the State will deposit whatever amount each parent deposits up to 1,200 euros annually.

Comparison with US investment accounts

The Greek initiative shares structural similarities with the "Trump Accounts" model in the United States, though the two systems differ in their funding structure. In the American pilot framework, the federal government makes a single, one-off deposit of $1,000 for eligible children born between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2028. Following that initial government seed, parents, relatives, and employers can contribute up to a combined annual ceiling of $5,000 for the years 2026 and 2027, with the cap subject to future adjustment. The American funds are invested in low-cost mutual funds or exchange-traded funds tracking indices of domestic companies, with withdrawals barred before age 18 to harness compound returns over time.

Broader demographic and housing measures

Alongside the child savings accounts, the Greek government detailed several complementary policies aimed at demographic challenges and rising living costs for families. The package includes a renewed housing program modeled after the previous "Spiti Mou" (My Home) scheme, offering subsidized interest rates and broadened income criteria so that monthly mortgage payments remain below average market rents. Targeted cash supplements will also scale according to the total number of dependent children to assist with everyday household expenses. Furthermore, for more than 150,000 families with three children, the government plans to increase the personal income tax threshold to cover monthly earnings between €1,500 and €1,700. Operational guidelines, income thresholds, and utilization criteria for the savings accounts will be clarified ahead of the 2027 implementation date.