There are around four million employed people in Austria, and a quarter of them are entitled to a supplementary company pension. This is a supplementary benefit to the statutory pension that employers can grant voluntarily. Andreas Zakostelsky, chairman of the Association of Pension and Provident Funds, called for a full expansion of the pension fund system on Wednesday.
This was supported by a study that the association commissioned from the economic research institute Wifo. “We looked at what effects it would have if everyone who wanted to could take part in this model,” says Wifo expert Thomas Url. The employed would have the opportunity to convert a wage increase into a payment into a pension fund. This model would be cost-neutral for the employer.
For this purpose, Wifo calculated two scenarios: Firstly, a model was calculated with an annual contribution amount of 2.5 percent of gross wages and salaries. A second model shows the effect of an indexed amount of money of 150 euros annually. Both options were calculated for several levels of training, professional groups, full and part-time, and men and women.
An example: According to Url, the first scenario would make the gross initial pension 15 to 19 percent higher than without a company pension plan. Depending on the model, an expansion of company pension schemes could significantly reduce income inequality among pensioners compared to pure statutory pensions. The redistribution effect would be further increased if there was funding of 80 euros per year. Low earners and part-time workers in particular would benefit.
Depending on the number of employees who would opt for it, the funding would burden the budget with a maximum of 320 million euros annually. According to Wifo director Gabriel Felbermayr, this sum would be “money well invested” despite the need for consolidation.
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Image: Anna Rauchberger
Source: Nachrichten
