The blue-black coalition negotiators do not want to intervene directly in the pension accounts, as was initially rumored, but want to align the actual starting age with the legal one. Higher insurance premiums are also targeted. Representatives of pensioners have announced “fierce opposition” to this.
According to the budgetary consolidation plans, EUR 320 million should be saved in health insurance: EUR 270 million to adjust premiums and EUR 50 million to close insurance gaps. What this means in concrete terms has not yet been specified by the FPÖ and ÖVP. To save the 270 million, an increase in health insurance premiums for pensioners will probably be planned. The contribution rate is currently 5.1 percent of the gross pension, while that for employees is considerably higher at 7.65 percent.
Kostelka: “We will certainly not be deterred”
“We will certainly not tolerate that,” the chairman of the SPÖ-affiliated pensioners’ association, Peter Kostelka, said on Friday, announcing “bitter resistance.” The Senior Citizens’ Association ÖVP understood that all population groups had to contribute to the budget restructuring, but called for a balanced ratio.
The employees pay 3.87 percent and the employer 3.78 percent. That is why the pensioners’ association states that pensioners already pay the highest health insurance premiums. It is not understandable that they are “now being asked to pay extra money,” Kostelka said.
Korosec insists on social compatibility
President of the Senior Citizens’ Association Ingrid Korosec explained: “In principle, all population groups will have to contribute to the restructuring of the budget, including the older generation, but all measures must be balanced and socially acceptable.”
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.
