There are around 2.5 million pensioners in Austria. And the trend is rising sharply – because the wave of “baby boomers” retiring is reaching its peak. The turnout at the information event “Beware of the trap! Pensions and your rights” was correspondingly high. Not least because retirement brings with it many questions. Manfred Staufer and Markus Brandner, experts from the Upper Austrian Chamber of Labor, answered the most common ones on Monday evening in the AK district office in Kirchdorf:
What do I need to do before I retire?
Manfred Staufer: You must submit a corresponding pension application to the Pension Insurance Institute (PVA), ideally two to three months before the deadline. Without an application, you are not entitled to a pension, even if all other requirements are met! You should also discuss the question of ending your employment relationship (for example in the form of a mutual agreement) with your employer. Do not rely on them coming to you.
And when is the deadline?
Markus Brandner: The deadline is triggered by the pension application. You should think carefully about when you submit the application. You cannot say afterwards that you are still waiting a few months. That is why I recommend having the PVA calculate the pension amount with deductions etc. in advance.
What requirements do I have to meet for partial retirement?
Staufers: Partial retirement, i.e. a reduction in working hours to 40 to 60 percent, can be started at the earliest five years before the standard retirement age. For men, this age is 65, so men can start partial retirement at the earliest at 60. The standard retirement age for women (previously 60) will be raised in six-month increments from January 2024 for women born on or after January 1, 1964. Women born on or after July 1968 (like men) can also only start regular retirement at the age of 65. This means that as the retirement age for women is raised, the starting age for partial retirement will also be gradually raised. Another requirement for partial retirement is a corresponding agreement with the employer. Thirdly, you must have been employed subject to social insurance contributions (above the marginal employment limit) for at least 15 years in the last 25 years. Fourthly, a certain minimum working time is required in the year before partial retirement – namely 60 percent of the statutory or collectively agreed working time. This means that part-time workers can also take advantage of the opportunity, provided they have these 60 percent working time beforehand. Fifth: The employment relationship must have lasted at least three months.
Is blocked partial retirement still possible?
Staufers: Yes, the block variant of partial retirement still exists. With the blocked variant, you are usually fully employed in the first phase and released from work in the second phase (leisure phase), so you are home earlier. However, continuous partial retirement – in which you work part-time for the entire period of a maximum of 5 years – has always been more popular with employers because the AMS reimburses 90 percent of the additional expenses incurred by the employer as a result of wage compensation. With the block variant, only 50 percent of these additional expenses have always been reimbursed. Since 2024, these payments have been decreasing year by year until the funding runs out altogether in 2029. Because employers are receiving fewer and fewer costs reimbursed, it can be assumed that they will no longer agree to the blocked variant in the future.
Am I allowed to earn extra money alongside part-time retirement?
Staufers: You are not allowed to earn any additional income above the marginal income limit from the employer with whom you have agreed to part-time retirement, otherwise you will no longer receive your part-time retirement allowance. What is interesting is that you do not have to observe the marginal income limit if you work for another employer. But be careful! You should definitely get the part-time job approved beforehand by your main employer, where you are on part-time retirement.
What is the corridor pension?
Brandner: This is an early retirement pension that women and men can take from the age of 62. Employees need 40 years of insurance to qualify – periods of sick leave etc. are also included. The high deductions are problematic: 5.1 percent per year.
What is the Hackler regulation?
Brandner: For the Hackler scheme (= early retirement pension with a long insurance period), in addition to the starting age of 62, you also need 540 months of contributions due to gainful employment. In addition, this type of pension also includes a maximum of 60 months of child-rearing time (not covered by months of contributions), periods of receiving maternity allowance (not covered by periods of child-rearing) and time spent in military and community service. With this type of pension, you receive a 4.2 percent reduction per year.
What is the heavy worker pension?
Brandner: This type of pension is available from the age of 60 if you have 45 years of insurance and have performed ten years of hard labor in the 20 years before the reference date. The reduction is 1.8 percent per year.
How is the salary for part-time retirement calculated and how is severance pay regulated?
Manfred Staufer: In addition to the salary for your reduced working hours, you will also receive wage compensation amounting to 50 percent of the difference between your previous salary (12-month average) and the salary corresponding to the reduced working hours. This means that with 50% partial retirement you will receive around 75 percent of your previous salary. However, the employer will continue to pay social security contributions (health, accident, pension and unemployment insurance) based on the income before the start of partial retirement. The “old” severance payment is calculated based on the working hours before the reduction in normal working hours. The contributions to the “new” severance payment are paid according to the contribution basis that corresponds to the previous working hours.
Still questions?
The experts of the Upper Austrian Chamber of Labor are available at any time to provide advice on pensions and other employment law issues: Tel.: 050/69061 Email: Rechtsschutz@akooe.at
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Image: Photo Haijes
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