Austria’s pension debate must be based on transparent cost information rather than “alarming figures”, the Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB) has argued, as it rejected calls to increase the statutory retirement age.

The ÖGB’s pensioners’ group backed the Austrian Senior Citizens’ Council’s call for greater transparency and accurate accounting of pension expenditure, arguing that different areas of public spending should not be combined when discussing the cost of the pension system.

ÖGB pensioners’ chair, Monika Kemperle, said an objective debate on the future of Austria’s pension system required policymakers to distinguish between pension expenditure and other areas of social spending.

The ÖGB argued that spending on civil service pensions, long-term care allowances and other social benefits should be presented separately rather than grouped together as pension expenditure.

“Cost transparency means clearly communicating what public funds are actually used for,” Kemperle continued.

“Only then can people understand how our pension system is financed.”

She also warned against drawing premature conclusions from demographic projections, arguing that employment, wage levels and contribution income were central to the financial sustainability of the public pension system.

“Long-term forecasts do not indicate a collapse of the pension system. Crucial for its financing are employment, good incomes and sufficient contribution payments.”

Meanwhile, the trade union argued that ensuring as many people as possible were in secure, well-paid employment would be particularly important to the future financing of pensions.

“Those who demand longer working lives must first ensure age-appropriate and age-friendly workplaces, further education, healthcare and an effective fight against age discrimination,” Kemperle added.

The ÖGB also called for more employment opportunities for women aged over 50, as well as an increase in the number of workplaces suited to older employees.

It reiterated its support for a bonus-malus system covering the employment of older workers, under which businesses that employ and retain older people would be rewarded, while those that fail to do so could face a financial penalty.

The trade union stressed that these labour-market measures should be accompanied by efforts to strengthen the public pension system and to introduce wealth-related taxes, rather than impose additional financial burdens on employees and pensioners.

“Our goal is a strong, reliable and solidarity-based public pension system,” Kemperle concluded.

“This requires facts, transparency and solutions in the labour market instead of pension myths.”

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