The Greek government is trying to eliminate wasteful spending in the aftermath of its budget deficit-induced sovereign debt crisis.

On Wednesday, their efforts have uncovered a startling fact: the government has been paying dead people. The Greek government pays 500 pensioners over the age of 110. Apparently, 300 of them have already passed away. Some money deposited into these accounts were withdrawn while others remain untouched.

Deputy Labor Minister George Koutroumanis said the discovery was incredible. He also called the situation a “Third World phenomenon” and said it should not continue “in a country that wants to be called a European country,” according to BBC News.

The Greek labor ministry is now reviewing cases of people under 100. Koutroumanis said he hopes to clean up the overall pension system, which could save between 80 million to 100 million euros per year.

Besides this recent discovery, the Greek government may be guilty other wasteful compensation practices.

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For example, it pays pensions to unmarried or divorced daughters of deceased civil servants. In some cases, it also pays government workers bonuses for speaking foreign languages, using a computer, arriving to work on time and working outdoors, according to Thomson Reuters.

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