Women's Effective Retirement Age in Austria Rises to 60.7 Years in 2025

After a decline in the previous year, new pension entrants rose again to 109,276, somewhat higher than recently. Pension expenditure – total benefits paid out for pensions – rose significantly once again to 50.5 billion euros.

Federal Default Liability Rises Sharply

At the same time, the federal default liability – the amount by which expenditures exceed revenues – rose by 17.5 percent to 10.4 billion euros. Administrative expenditure fell to 0.7 percent of total expenditure, according to the figures.

The PV spent 1.5 billion euros on inclusive aids in health prevention and rehabilitation. Pensions thus remain the largest expenditure item in the federal budget.

FPÖ Speaks of Government Failure

The FPÖ interprets the figures as severe criticism of the federal government. For Dagmar Belakowitsch, the FPÖ's spokesperson for labor and social affairs, the figures are "weiterer Beleg für das schwarz-rot-pinke Regierungsversagen, insbesondere am Arbeitsmarkt".

Belakowitsch also spoke of a "direkten Anschlag auf die finanzielle Grundlage unseres Sozialstaats". She sees the rising expenditures and growing federal default liability as a sign that the current system is not financially viable without fundamental reforms.

The pension insurance itself points to the slightly reduced administrative cost ratio and the renewed increase in contribution receipts as positive indicators.

Outlook on Further Reform Debate

Overall, the 2025 pension insurance financial statement shows the persistent gap between rising expenditures and revenues that must be offset by federal funds.

The political debate over reforms – such as a higher effective retirement age or adjustments to the contribution system – is likely to intensify with the presentation of the new figures. The question of how the gender pension gap can be further closed also remains on the agenda.

The PV emphasizes that the long-term stability of the system depends on labor market developments and demographic dynamics. Concrete reform proposals from the government were not yet available at the time the financial statement was presented.

With the rise in women's retirement age to 60.7 years, this figure is moving closer to that of men. If the previous trend continues, the average pension receipt period could continue to converge, provided the actual retirement age also rises.

The next budgetary decisions in parliament will show whether the federal default liability continues to grow or whether countermeasures will be taken to keep the system sustainable in the long term.