This is the average inflation value from August 2020 to July 2021, which Statistics Austria published on Wednesday. The senior representatives are already demanding that there should be more for those receiving lower pensions. This is now to be negotiated with politicians.
The law provides for pensions to be adjusted in line with inflation. Statistics Austria has now calculated the relevant figure for last year at 1.8 percent. If you stick to it, the Ministry of Social Affairs must determine the adjustment factor by ordinance by November 30th at the latest. Should politics want to deviate from this calculated factor, a law would have to be passed – as was usually the case in previous years.
- ZIB-Video: Pensions are to be adjusted
A socially graded pension increase was also decided in the previous year. For this year, recipients of small pensions had received more than double the compensation for inflation of 1.5 percent: Payments of up to 1,000 euros were increased by 3.5 percent. Up to 1,400 euros the increase fell linearly to 1.5 percent, from 2,333 euros it was capped with a fixed amount of 35 euros.
Higher pensions to fight poverty
And now the two presidents of the Seniors’ Council, Ingrid Korosec (ÖVP) and Peter Kostelka (SPÖ), are calling for a higher adjustment for low pensions. In an interview with the APA, both demanded that the 1.8 percent should be given for higher pensions as compensation for inflation. As a measure to combat poverty, however, both want more for small pensions. Both the President of the ÖVP Senior Citizens Association and the President of the SPÖ Pensioners Association pointed out that the government had set itself the goal of halving the risk of poverty in its work program. And that would be a measure to reduce poverty in old age.
Specifically, Kostelka is already proposing double inflation compensation up to the risk of poverty threshold of 1,328 euros (60 percent of median income), which would then be 3.6 percent. For pensions above this, there should be an abrasion regulation up to the statutory 1.8 percent. The senior representatives now want to negotiate the details with the government again, as was common practice in previous years.
