In the constitution?

SPÖ demands “entitlement to state pension”

(Bild: APA/ROLAND SCHLAGER)

The SPÖ wants to incorporate a statutory pension system into the constitution. All those who have "worked for decades" should be entitled to a legally guaranteed state pension, emphasized party leader Andreas Babler and social spokesman Josef Muchitsch on Tuesday. They are also pushing for incentives to raise the de facto retirement age.

The press conference on Tuesday was probably also a tactical move by the party - after the furor surrounding Muchitsch's internal criticism of the party last week, it was probably also about signalling unity. To this end, they used pensions as one of the party's core issues.

Muchitsch said on Tuesday when asked by a journalist that he regretted how his statement had been received - he had spoken out in an interview in favor of a more business-friendly positioning of the party leader in order to appeal to the middle of society. He wanted to show a clear edge, Babler said, pointing to the demands on the subject of pensions.

Internal party differences seem to have calmed down - is the SPÖ now heading back towards the middle class?

(Bild: APA/ROLAND SCHLAGER)

Protecting pensions better from encroachment
The SPÖ leader wants to create legal rights with his policy, as he said at the press conference. Those who have worked for decades should also be entitled to legally secured state pensions. If the principles of statutory pension insurance - compulsory insurance based on solidarity and financed on a pay-as-you-go basis - were incorporated into the constitution, the state pension system would be better protected against interference.

Better childcare, more pension for women
The Social Democrats also want a personnel offensive in the areas of health, child education and care, incentives to raise the de facto retirement age, a commitment against raising the current statutory retirement age and measures to get women out of the "part-time trap". The party also submitted these demands to the National Council's Social Affairs Committee on Tuesday in the form of a motion for a resolution.

According to Babler, women who take on the majority of "care work" currently receive around 40 percent less pension on average. In order to solve this problem, childcare also needs to be expanded. In professions such as care, a reduction in working hours is also necessary, said Babler. For example, 73 percent of employees in elderly care and care for the disabled doubt that they will be able to work until the statutory retirement age. These professions must be recognized as hard work, Muchitsch said.

Measures for good jobs are needed so that everyone can reach retirement age in good health.

(Bild: APA/ROLAND SCHLAGER)

Protective clause against impending loss of value
With a second motion, the SPÖ wants to abolish the currently still suspended aliquotation of the first pension adjustment. This means that the amount of the adjustment in the first (full) year of retirement depends on the month of retirement. The later in the year you retire, the lower the increase in the following year. The SPÖ and FPÖ had their appeal against the aliquot system rejected by the Constitutional Court (VfGH). The SPÖ is also calling for the protective clause, which was intended to prevent an imminent loss of value for this year's pension cohort, to be extended indefinitely.

Babler and Muchitsch are convinced that the pension system is fit for the future. According to the EU's "Ageing Report 2021", state expenditure on pensions would only increase by 0.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2070, said the SPÖ leader. Pensions are affordable if jobs are created and secured and women are freed from the part-time trap, Muchitsch said.

The NEOS take a different view. "The Court of Auditors, the OECD, the EU Commission, the IMF, the Fiscal Council, pretty much all national and international experts - they are all unanimously calling for far-reaching reforms to the Austrian pension system," said social spokesperson Gerald Loacker in a press release. Rising life expectancy must be reflected in the pension formula, he demanded.