Labor Minister Martin Kocher convinced the German newspaper ‘Bild’ that Austria was doing much better than its large neighbor. “Ösis loses the traffic lights when it comes to pensions and energy,” the newspaper headline said on Thursday. Why this claim doesn’t hold up under closer inspection.
“The time when little Austria looked with admiration at the economic giant Germany is long gone,” writes ‘Bild’, using the pension system, which is said to be ‘worlds better’, and the energy supply as examples. Minister Kocher of Labor and Economy is happy: “We have a relatively flexible pension system that works well.”
Retire earlier and with more money
The paper points out that Austrian men retired at an average age of 62.1 and received an average of 1,856.08 euros fourteen times a year, while women retired at the age of 60 and received an average of 1,310.74 euros. In contrast, the average German pension is 1,332 euros for men and 1,118 euros for women – with just twelve payments per year.
According to ‘Bild’, men and women who left working life with a regular old-age pension in the past year worked an average of 65.3 years (women 65.4 years).. “The Austrians work up to five years less time than us – and still get more out of it,” the summary reads.
Government subsidies increase every year
What is not mentioned in the report, however, is that the Austrian system can only be kept alive with a lot of tax money. The public sector must contribute 14 billion (!) euros this year. PVA general director Winfrid Pinggera repeatedly warns that the system will become too expensive in the long term and calls for measures to bring the actual starting age closer to the legal age.
NEOS just shakes their heads
NEOS MP Gerald Loacker, who has been critical of the domestic system for years, is surprised by Kocher’s appearance: “Every international organization calls on Austria to reform the pension system: the OECD, the IMF and the European Commission. The minister may also have missed the latest report from the RH and ignored the warning words of the head of the Budget Council, Badelt.”
On Wednesday, Christoph Badelt, chairman of the Budget Council, painted a gloomy picture of the Austrian budget and criticized, among other things, the sky-high pension costs. The Budget Council expects a deficit of 3.4 percent of GDP for 2024 and will not fall below the Maastricht limit of three percent in 2028.
“The next government will not be able to avoid austerity packages”
Badelt sees a lack of strategy on the part of Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP). “I was very surprised that something like this was reported to Brussels,” said the President of the Budget Council. The next government will start with an austerity package and will not be able to avoid tax increases, he said.
The energy sector is a positive example of everything
The second example of Austria’s alleged role model effect is also questionable. The report praises the relatively low electricity prices, but does not mention at all that no other country in Europe is so dependent on Russian gas and after almost two and a half years of war still uses almost 100 percent Russian gas.
Kocher: “The relatively high share of renewable energy in Austrian electricity production is certainly a strategic advantage compared to Germany.”
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
