Pensions like in Austria? Wagenknecht conceals problems for German pensioners

Frankfurter Rundschau Pensions like in Austria? Wagenknecht conceals problems for German pensioners Lars-Eric Nievelstein • 18 hours • 3 minutes reading time Demography as a fundamental factor A party wants to restructure pensions based on the Austrian model. There is a plan behind this: more pensions for everyone. There are several problems with this. Berlin - The labor market is shrinking. Fewer and fewer employees have to pay the pensions for more and more pensioners. At the same time, business and politics are repeatedly discussing raising the retirement age. The fundamental problems are known. That is why the parties have also addressed pensions in the election campaign for the federal election in February 2025. The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) has ambitious plans, but their feasibility is questionable. Pensions just like in Austria - more pensions and retirement from 63 The BSW is aiming for a pension reform based on the Austrian model. Germany is to introduce a tiered model that guarantees pensioners a minimum pension of 1,200 euros after 15 years of insurance. After 30 years, it will be 1,300 euros, and after 40 years, 1,500 euros. To finance this, all employed people, including members of the Bundestag and federal ministers, will be required to pay into the statutory pension. The alliance plans to set the average pension level at at least 75 percent of the net income earned during their working life. In addition, all pensions will increase by 120 euros per month to compensate for inflation. The pay-as-you-go pension is to be strengthened and the promotion of private pension models will be eliminated, as low earners are said to be unable to afford them. This is aimed primarily at the controversial Riester pension, the reform of which was already planned under the Merkel government but never implemented. After 45 years of insurance, Germans will be able to retire without deductions from the age of 63. The BSW rejects further increases in the retirement age. DRV warns against comparisons with Austria in terms of pensions - due to fundamental problems The debate about whether Austria performs better than Germany in terms of pensions is not new. The German Pension Insurance (DRV) warned in 2023 against comparing pension systems based on individual regulations, as this would be "problematic". Too many factors play a role. In Austria, for example, there is no group-specific classification of employed people into compulsory security systems, which would lead to significant differences for dependent employees, civil servants, freelancers and farmers if Germany were to change over. Another difference lies in the waiting period for receiving a pension: in Austria it is 15 years, in Germany only five. According to the DRV, "mini pensions" in Germany lower the statistical average, while in Austria people who have been insured for ten or twelve years do not receive a pension. The contribution rates also differ significantly. The Austrian contribution rate for pension insurance is higher and not equal. The deductions for early retirement are higher in Austria at 4.2 percent than in Germany at 3.6 percent. German pensioners receive a higher supplement of 6.0 percent if they retire later, while in Austria it is 4.2 percent per year. There has been no early retirement without deductions in Austria since 2022. Austrians get 500 euros more - BSW wants changes to pensions In 2022, the average statutory pension in Austria was 1,645 euros per month, 500 euros more than in Germany. This is made possible by higher contribution rates (Austria 22.8 percent, Germany 18.6 percent) and more funds from the federal government. According to the DRV, this explains about half of the pension difference. Another key factor is the demographic situation. "Around a quarter of the pension difference is due to a more favorable demographic starting point in Austria, which cannot be directly transferred to Germany," explained the German Pension Insurance.