While the average retirement age in 2022 in the OECD area was 64.4 years for men and 63.6 years for women, in Austria men retired at 61.6 years and women at 60.9 years . Only in France and Belgium is the difference between the legal age and the effective retirement age of men greater than in this country, where the difference is 3.4 years, according to another result of the OECD study “Pensions at a Glance” published on Wednesday (““Pensions Overview”).
In parallel with early retirement, life expectancy after leaving the labor market in Austria is 21.6 years for men and 25.5 years for women, noticeably higher than the OECD average, where men are expected to have 18.6 years and women 22.8 years live in the pension.
debate
How important is later retirement?
Fourth place in terms of costs
Consequently, government spending in Austria is comparatively high compared to the group of industrialized countries. The highest government spending on pensions in 2019 was recorded in Italy and Greece, each representing around 16% of gross domestic product (GDP). France (13.4) and Austria followed with 13 percent of GDP. In general, these countries spend between a quarter and a third of total public expenditure on pensions. At the other end of the spectrum are Chile, Iceland, Ireland, Korea and Mexico, where less than four percent of GDP is spent on public pensions.
In 23 of the 38 OECD countries, an inflation adjustment of the regular retirement age is planned, which will increase the average retirement age of today's young professionals to 66.3 years for men and 65.8 years for women.
Graphics: APA/ORF; Source: OECD
OECD: More prevention and training
The OECD recommends promoting the employment and employability of older workers, given the growing proportion of the population aged 65 and over.
According to the OECD, health prevention and ongoing training are particularly important so that workers can switch to less stressful work before their health is harmed.
NEOS: This bill cannot be paid
NEOS, the Industrial Association (IV) and the economically liberal think tank Agenda Austria, among others, saw their calls for reforms to the pension system confirmed by the OECD study on Wednesday. “Anyone who paid attention to mathematics at school will quickly come to the conclusion that this calculation cannot be done,” criticized NEOS social spokesman Gerald Loacker in a broadcast. If the struggling pension system is not fundamentally reformed soon, young people will no longer receive a decent pension within 30 or 40 years, he warned.
Agenda Austria criticized the fact that in more than half of OECD countries the legal retirement age will increase further in the future, but in Austria this problem has been ignored by politicians for years. The Industrial Association also called once again for adequate incentives for the elderly to remain in active life for longer.
For automatic adjustment to life expectancy
The Geração Justiça Association also joined the chorus and demanded that the OECD study be the beginning of pension reform in Austria. Specifically, the runner's pension should start at age 63 instead of age 62, the legal retirement age should be automatically adjusted to life expectancy, healthcare should be extended, and disability pensions should be reduced through preventive measures. , according to the requirements.
Incentives for longer working hours were decided
On Wednesday at the National Council, the ÖVP and the Greens decided on measures that would reward people for working longer hours. Anyone working beyond the normal retirement age will receive a higher pension supplement in the future. The federal government also covers part of the social security contributions due. To this end, a tolerance limit will be introduced on the additional earnings allowed for all those receiving a runner's or heavy worker's pension.
The government-appointed Old Age Security Commission came to the conclusion in November, on current assessments, that pension spending will increase sharply from the current 28.3 to 39.3 billion by 2028. According to the long-term report, Pensions are guaranteed until 2070, according to the Ministry of Social Affairs. However, the ministry also emphasized that the system is only accessible if people retire later, i.e. the actual retirement age is adjusted to the legal retirement age.
The Chamber of Labor and the Association of Retirees calmed down after the release of the commission's studies. There is no hole in the pension. The increase in the coming years results from the retirement of baby boomers and is already included in long-term forecasts. Of course, business associations saw the situation differently.