The representatives of pensioners see several open questions after the government’s decision to increase pensions. The chairmen of the Senior Citizens’ Council Ingrid Korosec (Association of Seniors) and Peter Kostelka (Association of Pensioners) called for further discussions at a press conference on Thursday, especially regarding their unmet demands for compensation for interim financing, a permanent abolition of aliquoting and a protective measure. clause also for the year 2025.
The decision in the Council of Ministers was “from the perspective of the Senior Council anything but a reason to celebrate”, criticized Kostelka of the pensioners’ association affiliated with the SPÖ and saw only a “small part of our wishes come true”. The president of the seniors’ association ÖVP admitted to the federal government that she had made an effort and shown appreciation for the seniors, but Korosec spoke of a number of “negative points” and called for adjustments.
Inflation compensated
The seniors’ representatives were satisfied that the 9.7 percent increase in pensions compensated for inflation. The Senior Citizens Council also views the protection clause announced by the cabinet to prevent an impending loss of value for the coming pension cohort as positive, but would also like to see a solution for 2025. Now a decision on this looms “in the smoke of the 2024 election campaign,” Kostelka warned.
I’m just talking about old-age pensions
The chairman of the pensioners’ association also sees a problem in the fact that the Council of Ministers only talks about old-age pensions in its lecture. This would mean that the protection clause would only apply to just over half of the approximately 100,000 pensioners. Those with long-term insurance, hard workers and retirees would not be included, said Kostelka, who spoke of “peasantism” and “insincerity” if this were not made very clear.
The pensioners’ representatives also criticized the fact that their demands for compensation for the interim financing of inflation in 2022/2023 and for a permanent abolition of aliquoting – i.e. the proportional pension adjustment in the first year of retirement – remained unfulfilled. Aliquoting is suspended for two years.
Capping pension increases
Another negative for Korosek is the cap on pension increases for the highest pensions. The 7,250 civil servants with salaries of more than 5,850 euros are not luxury pensioners, she rejected such descriptions. The chairwoman of the Senior Citizens’ Association criticized the fact that for fourteen years there has always been a ceiling for the highest pensions, which is not consistent with the benefit or insurance principle.
Caritas: Increase in minimum pensions too low
Caritas criticized on Thursday that the lowest pensions are not increased more. “9.7 percent sounds like a lot, but for minimum pensioners this is often still not enough to cover daily living expenses or even to get out of the poverty trap,” Caritas President Michael Landau said in a press release. The most urgent everyday products would have become more expensive than the average inflation rate, and therefore minimum pensioners would be hit even harder by inflation. The yawning gap between the compensation payment and the at-risk-of-poverty threshold remains, Landau emphasized, speaking of a missed opportunity to sustainably combat poverty in old age – especially among women.
Source: Krone
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