Always have it checked

Partial retirement: Beware of calculation errors!

Trust is good, control is better: the partial retirement pay of a Vorarlberg resident was calculated incorrectly. Fortunately, he contacted the Chamber of Labor at an early stage - and saved a whopping 35,000 euros.

Mr. F. had been employed by a company in Vorarlberg for many years. As a thank you for the good cooperation, the employer allowed him to take advantage of partial retirement. As a result, the company and Mr. F. agreed to reduce his working hours from 100 percent to 60 percent.

In addition to the working hours, the total monthly salary was also agreed in the partial retirement agreement. Mr. F. was to receive a total of 2100 euros gross in future - 1600 euros part-time pay and 500 euros wage compensation. So far, so right.

Receiving much less than agreed
However, after receiving his first payslip at the start of partial retirement, Mr F. had the feeling that something was wrong and arranged a consultation with the Vorarlberg Chamber of Labor. It turned out that at the start of partial retirement, only the gross part-time pay of EUR 1,600 had been settled and paid out. However, the wage compensation or the agreed total remuneration of EUR 2100 gross was only taken into account in the contribution base for social insurance.

AK labor law expert Julia Bischof.(Bild: AK Vorarlberg)

Incorrect contribution basis with serious consequences
Bischof found another error: "The contribution basis for social insurance was also incorrect." The company had submitted the amount that Mr F. was now receiving in partial retirement. "According to the law, however, the amount before the reduction in normal working hours must be selected as the contribution base." According to Bischof, this has serious consequences: "Using too low a contribution base would, for example, affect the future pension, any sick pay payments, severance pay and much more. However, as this error was also corrected immediately by the employer, no damage was caused here either."

The partial retirement calculator is available on the AK homepage: https://www.arbeiterkammer.at/service/rechner/Altersteilzeit-Rechner.html