Representatives of Pensioners Criticize Ideas for Pension Reform

The Pensioners' Association, which is close to the SPÖ, warned on Tuesday that "further sections of pensioners in Austria are at risk of poverty". The Seniors' Association of the ÖVP also rejected "red pencil ideas" and called for the actual retirement age to be aligned with the legal one before it is raised.

Pensioner Representatives Against Raising the Retirement Age

Pensioners' Association President Peter Kostelka warned in a statement against a "slash and burn" approach to pensions. Specifically, he opposed future pension increases below the inflation rate, possible rollbacks of reforms from recent years, a shift from a pay-as-you-go to a capital system, and raising the retirement age to 67 years. First, "an age-appropriate working world must be created to make longer working possible at all," said Kostelka, "we are miles away from that and therefore few manage to work until the legal retirement age".

Seniors' Association President Ingrid Korosec echoed this sentiment. It is necessary to first adjust the actual retirement age to the legal one, as currently about 44 percent between 55 and 64 years do not retire directly from employment, but from sick leave or unemployment. This requires a social partnership consensus for age-appropriate workplaces, an enhancement of voluntary work in retirement by eliminating levies and taxes, and investments in health prevention, according to Korosec. According to the Seniors' Association, the economic, social and demographic development requires medium to long-term adjustments, but the premise must be "reliability and fairness". Korosec therefore appealed to the government negotiators for "a fact-based discussion, reliability and transparency instead of uncertainty".

(APA/Red)

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