Latest figures show that pensions are safe

From a response from Federal Minister Rauch to a parliamentary question from National Council member Barbara Teiber, chairwoman of the GPA, available to the GPA union, it emerges that pensions are secure and are developing stably. In this context, Teiber criticizes the plans of industrialists and business lobbyists in the ÖVP to raise the statutory retirement age.

“The number of months in which pension insured people have paid into the system has increased sharply since 2001. At the same time, today there are only 579 pensions for every 1,000 insured people, whereas at the turn of the millennium 622 pensioners had to be financed for every 1,000 insured people. The public pension system is stable and the myths that it is unaffordable turn out to be propaganda from private insurance companies and their political friends,” says Teiber.

The trade unionist explains: “While employees pay themselves the vast majority of their pensions, the self-employed receive every second euro from tax money. The farmers only pay a quarter of their pension themselves. Nevertheless, the ÖVP, driven by hardliners from business, is sparking a pension debate about the pensions of dependent employees and wants to raise the statutory retirement age. This demand is completely misplaced, as the figures show.”

Teiber continues: “Pensions are best secured when as many people as possible pay in, i.e. as many people as possible are in working life. What is therefore needed is an active labor market policy. The last government cut almost 100 million euros from the AMS. This is the opposite of responsible politics. We are calling for more money for labor market measures, especially qualifications.”