According to Statistics Austria, social expenditure – such as pensions, unemployment benefits or family benefits – increased by 7.2 percent between 2022 and 2023. The approximately 146.2 billion euros spent on this represents a new high.
In 2022, approximately 136.4 billion euros were spent on social benefits. The majority of this, 45 percent, went to retirement benefits, while 28 percent went to health benefits.
Growth higher than economic growth
The increase in social expenditure was stronger than economic growth, according to a report from the Ministry of Social Affairs. This meant that the social quota – the share of social benefits in gross domestic product (GDP) – rose slightly from 30.5 to 30.9 percent. 97 percent of social expenditure went to social benefits, the rest was attributable to administrative costs, among other things. Just under two-thirds were paid out in cash.
Spending on pension benefits rose to 64.5 billion euros
Spending on pension benefits – almost entirely pension benefits – increased by 9.1 percent to 64.5 billion euros. That is approximately 45 percent of social benefits in 2023. 28 percent (39.9 billion euros, 6.6 percent more than in 2022) went to health care. About nine percent went to the areas of family and children, about five percent went to the areas of disability, survivors and unemployment, and about three percent went to housing and social exclusion.
Broken down by provider, 55 percent of social expenditure went to social insurance, including pension, health and unemployment insurance. With 21 percent – used, for example, for minimum incomes, kindergartens and hospitals – for the first time the states and municipalities had a larger share of expenditure than the federal government with 19 percent – used, among other things, for child benefits and civil servant pensions.
In 2023, social expenditure was financed by 39 percent (57 billion euros) from tax revenues, 34 percent (50 billion euros) from employer contributions and 26 percent (37 billion euros) from contributions from protected individuals.
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.
