Budget committee agrees: Families and Climate affected!

Budget committee agrees: Families and Climate affected!

Vienna, Österreich - The budget committee has sent the budget accompanying law, which provides for far -reaching austerity measures, with the votes of the government parties ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS into the plenum. This law is to be decided in the next plenary week of the National Council, which begins on June 16. Central measures include the end of the climate bonus and a two -year freezing of family allowance as well as other family services. In addition, access to the corridor pension is made more difficult, which is criticized as a social injustice of some oppositionally. Problems in the health sector are also addressed, since a waiting period for new ones is required when accessing the system in order to minimize the financial burden.

In addition, the law includes 72 amendments to the law and a new law. For example, the obligation is lifted to use the third third of the cold progression for tax relief measures by 2029. The law also provides for an increase in the service fee for the E-Card and the loss of nationwide social welfare statistics. In the opposition, the Greens expressed critical voices, in particular on the Nova exemption, which in their opinion endangers the climate goals.

changes in the pension system

As part of the budget accompanying law, significant changes in relation to the pension system were also decided. This is how the educational bonus for social welfare educators is deleted: the school trip allowance and the journey allowance for apprentices are increased. Furthermore, there are new defines in the university budget for the period 2025 to 2027. Social Minister Johannes Rauch sees the Austrian pension system as well positioned despite increasing expenses. However, he does not plan to promote operational and private pensions more and would like to bring the factual retirement age closer to the statutory retirement age.

The average monthly pension is currently 1,569 euros, and the federal pension expenses are expected to increase to 35.23 billion euros by 2027. In view of the challenges through the so-called "baby boomer" generation, long-term planning is required in the pension system. The budget could significantly relieve a later pension. Lay -visible measures to combat poverty and integration of people with disabilities in the labor market are also part of the discussions about the budget.

financing and social expenditure

The budget for social affairs and consumer protection is increased by 16.8 percent to a total of 5.88 billion euros, which includes a greater doping of the nursing fund by 644 million euros. It is also announced that the nursing fund should be valorized from 2025. The budget also provides funds for the promotion of 24-hour care, while the compensation allowance recipients decreased from 204,860 to 201.280, with an increase in the average compensation allowance from 416.87 euros to EUR 447.51 In the middle of these austerity measures, the government parties also want to announce a package of measures to combat tax fraud and aggressive tax strategies. The opposition's reactions are mostly negative, with the restrictions in the area of corridor pension and the deletion of the educational bonus. The challenge is to find a balance between required savings and social justice.

In summary, the budget accompanying law is an answer from the government to the increasing expenditure in the social and pension area, but also harbors numerous dissatisfaction and challenges that must be discussed in the upcoming meeting of the National Council. While the government parties emphasize the need for these measures, the critical voices from the opposition are loud, which fear insufficient consideration of social issues.

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