How will Austria's new retirement rules affect people in the country?
Austria is changing the retirement age for women, while regulations and benefits are also being adjusted starting in 2024. Here's what this means for you.
Starting in 2024, the statutory retirement age for women in Austria will slowly rise until it reaches that of men. This change came after the country's Constitutional Court ruled that the different retirement ages were contrary to equality in the country.
The key dates were specified last year, and implementation will begin this year. The statutory retirement age for women will now rise from 60 to 65 in half-yearly increments until 2033.
This now affects women born between January 1st and June 30th, 1964, for the first time. They can only retire at the age of 60.5. Women born between July 1st and December 31st, 1964, will then have a standard retirement age of 61.
READ ALSO: How Austria plans to raise the retirement age for women
This continues until women born after June 30th, 1968, have a standard retirement age of 65, as is the case for men.
More time in retirement
Despite the later retirement age, the increase in life expectancy means that women will spend more years in retirement, according to calculations by Agenda Austria, a liberal think tank in Vienna.
If the system remains the same, with no other major pension reforms, women will spend 28.9 years of their lives in retirement in 2060 instead of 26 years as of 2023. Men currently spend 20.5 years in retirement, which should rise to 25.3 in 2026 as life expectancy increases.
READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Everything you need to know about retiring in Austria
'The government has failed'
The government's pension reform has been heavily criticised in Austria. "The idea behind the 1992 pension reform was that women had to be on an equal footing with men before the retirement age was raised. But we are miles away from that," Klaudia Frieben (SPÖ), Chairwoman of the Austrian Women's Ring, told Die Presse.
Currently, women receive, on average, 40.55 percent less pension money compared to men, the report states. This is partly due to unequal career choices (and opportunities) - as women are underrepresented in sectors where salaries are higher, but also because women tend to interrupt their careers much more frequently due to childcare or caring for relatives.
READ ALSO: Five things you need to know about the Austrian pension system
Another issue is that women tend to have a more significant gap between their last employment and retirement age, affecting their pension later.
According to a study by the Chamber of Labour, not even half (48 percent) of women retired directly from active employment in 2019. They were unemployed or on sick leave, for example. This gap could grow further with the increase in the retirement age, warn employee representatives.
Comments
See Also
Starting in 2024, the statutory retirement age for women in Austria will slowly rise until it reaches that of men. This change came after the country's Constitutional Court ruled that the different retirement ages were contrary to equality in the country.
The key dates were specified last year, and implementation will begin this year. The statutory retirement age for women will now rise from 60 to 65 in half-yearly increments until 2033.
This now affects women born between January 1st and June 30th, 1964, for the first time. They can only retire at the age of 60.5. Women born between July 1st and December 31st, 1964, will then have a standard retirement age of 61.
READ ALSO: How Austria plans to raise the retirement age for women
This continues until women born after June 30th, 1968, have a standard retirement age of 65, as is the case for men.
More time in retirement
Despite the later retirement age, the increase in life expectancy means that women will spend more years in retirement, according to calculations by Agenda Austria, a liberal think tank in Vienna.
If the system remains the same, with no other major pension reforms, women will spend 28.9 years of their lives in retirement in 2060 instead of 26 years as of 2023. Men currently spend 20.5 years in retirement, which should rise to 25.3 in 2026 as life expectancy increases.
READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Everything you need to know about retiring in Austria
'The government has failed'
The government's pension reform has been heavily criticised in Austria. "The idea behind the 1992 pension reform was that women had to be on an equal footing with men before the retirement age was raised. But we are miles away from that," Klaudia Frieben (SPÖ), Chairwoman of the Austrian Women's Ring, told Die Presse.
Currently, women receive, on average, 40.55 percent less pension money compared to men, the report states. This is partly due to unequal career choices (and opportunities) - as women are underrepresented in sectors where salaries are higher, but also because women tend to interrupt their careers much more frequently due to childcare or caring for relatives.
READ ALSO: Five things you need to know about the Austrian pension system
Another issue is that women tend to have a more significant gap between their last employment and retirement age, affecting their pension later.
According to a study by the Chamber of Labour, not even half (48 percent) of women retired directly from active employment in 2019. They were unemployed or on sick leave, for example. This gap could grow further with the increase in the retirement age, warn employee representatives.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.