Working in the regular state pension often does not really pay off because taxes and levies, including a pension premium (!), are due. In contrast, economic county councilor Markus Achleitner (ÖVP) has developed his “Upper Austrian model for tax-free additional income in the standard pension”, which he handed over to Chancellor Karl Nehammer. He immediately hired Achleitner for a working group.
The pension waves are hitting, there is a shortage of workers everywhere. A new reform group at the federal level with the three ministers Martin Kocher, Magnus Brunner and Johannes Rauch should ensure the rapid implementation of measures to increase the number of employees and the volume of work (especially by part-time workers who work longer). Regional Economic Councilor Markus Achleitner is the representative of Upper Austria because the Chancellor likes his idea of tax-free extra earnings in the standard pension.
“Our Upper Austrian model for tax-free additional earnings in the standard pension is also supported by all federal states across party lines“, State Council Achleitner recalls the unanimous decision of the Conference of State Workers on December 2, 2022.
26,000 extra workers for Upper Austria
“A MARKET study commissioned by me showed that the interest in continuing to work after retirement would increase from 6 percent to 39 percent as a result of tax and excise benefits. In Upper Austria alone, the full-time labor production of 9,000 extra labor force would be gained, which would mean around 26,000 additional employees for the companies in Upper Austria,” explains provincial councilor Achleitner.
Fear of being pushed out of younger people unfounded
“In Upper Austria alone, there were more than 30,000 vacancies at the end of January. However, the actual need for labor and skilled labor is likely to be twice as high because many companies do not report their vacancies to the AMS,” emphasizes State Councilor Achleitner. “The risk of younger workers being displaced by older workers can therefore be ruled out given the current need for blue-collar workers and skilled workers, which will continue to increase as a result of demographic development,” confirms State Councilor Achleitner.
It is also a financial advantage for the state
“In any case, the advantages of the ‘Upper Austrian model’ are obvious: the companies get extra staff, while at the same time the experience and know-how of older people can continue to be used. In turn, there would be no losses for the public sector, because otherwise these retirees would not be working anyway. On the contrary, additional tax revenues could even be expected, resulting from the higher productivity of companies. In addition, this measure can also be implemented quickly,” says State Councilor Achleitner.
The incentives for retirees
What does Achleitner’s model look like? He describes it this way: “The financial incentives for pensioners are important: that is why only the Zvw contribution should be paid to continue working after retirement, while wage tax, pension contributions and other levies should be abolished. If there is a fear that retired workers will become cheaper than regular workers, a possible compromise is to leave employer contributions at their current level.”
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
