Are we becoming a country for pensioners, Mr. Holzinger?

“Will I even get a pension? And if so, how much?” This question has always been asked. And I assume that politicians will take the right steps so that pensions will continue to be paid out at an appropriate level in the future,” says the regional director of the Pensionsversicherungsanstalt (PVA) in Upper Austria, Gerald Holzinger, in the OÖN podcast “Money & Life”. Economics department head Dietmar Mascher.

290,000 pensioners

Holzinger left it open whether we will become a country of pensioners. However, statistics show that the number of pension recipients is constantly increasing – in Upper Austria from 258,000 in 2017 to 290,000 this year. “Life expectancy is increasing, and there are new generations of retirees. We expect around two percent more per year,” says Holzinger. Not least because the baby boomer generation is retiring.

On average, men retire at 61.5 years, women at 59.9. Women currently retire when they have reached their legal retirement age of 60. This is also because early retirement is hardly an option beforehand. The legal starting age for women will also increase by mid-2033.

This should have an impact on the pension level for women, says Holzinger. Because every year of employment, especially full-time, increases your pension entitlement. Four years of child-rearing time are credited per child and deposited with a fictitious gross income of 2,090 euros.

What part-time costs

Anyone who continues to work part-time and earns less will lose out significantly on their pension entitlement. Holzinger gives the example of a person who earns 2,500 euros a month. This year the person acquires a pension entitlement of 44.50 euros (per month). If you only work half and earn half, you only earn half the entitlement. Calculated over several years, this could result in a pension difference of several hundred euros, says Holzinger,

Currently, male ASVG pensioners receive an average pension of 2,785 euros gross per month, while female pensioners only receive 1,735 euros. The maximum pension is 3,850 euros.

Holzinger started at PVA as an apprentice and worked through all departments there. In Upper Austria, 400 people are employed there. This podcast is also about what Holzinger says about voluntary higher insurance, the additional purchase and the price of study periods, who determines the pension increases and what mechanism this follows.

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