Pension reform in Austria: Time for sustainable changes!

Pension reform in Austria: Time for sustainable changes!

In Austria, massive reforms are imminent in the pension system! Experts from the economic and social sector, including WiFo boss Gabriel Felbermayr, urge to emphasize the age of 65 to 67 years in order to cope with the financial crisis situation. The majority of the federal budget now flows into pension payments, and the pressure is growing because the federal subsidy could increase by 60 percent by 2029. "The system was not adjusted for 20 years. It is high time to think about a reform," emphasizes Felbermayr. These warnings are not unfounded, because according to the report of the retirement security commission and the forecasts for demographic development, the country urgently needs measures to avert a disaster, as Kurier

The challenges are huge

The pension system in Austria is faced with challenges in view of an increasingly old population. Every ten years, life expectancy increases by almost three quarters of a year. This means that people receive pension for longer, which also contains the system. WIFO pension expert Thomas Url suggests that the retirement age automatically link to life expectancy, a practice that has already been successfully implemented in many Scandinavian countries. "The best time for reforms was 20 years ago, the second best is now," explains Eco-Austria boss Monika Köppl-Turyna, while underlining the urgency of the situation, so Krone .

In addition, the annual pension adjustments are screwed in order not to always increase them beyond inflation in the future. Such short -term measures could save millions and stabilize the system. The adaptation of the corridor pension is also up for debate, while in the long term the focus should be on strengthening company and private retirement provision. "It is the demography, stupid!", Georg Feith summarizes the situation from the generation equity. At the moment, only 3 employees are coming to a pensioner, and this number is expected to drop to 1.7 by 2050. A real wake -up call for politics!