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Partial retirement approved: The government plans to extend working hours—new regulations are set to take effect in 2026, including restrictions on partial pension.
Before the 75-day parliamentary recess, the government is rushing a marathon of legislation through the National Council. In addition to the controversial surveillance of messengers, this also includes a minor pension reform. The latter was decided on Thursday afternoon. The aim is to keep Austrians in the workforce for even longer.
The key point is the introduction of partial pensions, which are to be paid in parallel with salaries if older employees continue to work part-time instead of retiring early. The amount of this partial pension depends on the extent of the reduction in working hours. Statutory deductions must be taken into account.
The remaining pension entitlement is then calculated when the employee finally retires, and the general deduction and supplement rules also apply in this case. This means that anyone who continues to work beyond the age of 65 will receive supplements for this part of their pension later on. It should be possible to claim partial retirement from the beginning of 2026.
At the same time as the introduction of partial retirement, restrictions on partial pension will be introduced. In the future, older employees will only be entitled to partial retirement benefits as wage compensation for a maximum of three years (previously five years), and these will generally be canceled from the point at which someone becomes eligible for a partial pension.
This means that people entitled to a corridor pension will be able to enter state-subsidized partial retirement at the earliest at age 60 from 2029, while other employees will be able to do so at the earliest at age 62. The reduction from five to three years will be implemented gradually, and the number of years of employment required for access to partial retirement will also be increased in stages.
Another new feature is a ban on paid secondary employment during partial retirement. For budgetary reasons, state wage compensation for new partial retirement agreements will be temporarily reduced from 90 to 80 percent between 2026 and 2028.
The government also plans to implement a “sustainability mechanism” to prevent pension expenditure from escalating out of control. If the budget path enshrined in the ASVG is exceeded, the government will be obliged to make cuts to the pension system.
For unemployed persons who participate in AMS training measures and have to interrupt them (temporarily), the legislative package provides for relief from reporting requirements. In addition, in response to a Supreme Court ruling, it is clarified that supplementary benefits to the equalization supplement and the pension bonus are only payable if the partner or affected children are legally resident in Austria. A supplementary bill ensures that this also applies to the GSVG and BSVG areas.
The legislative package has already received varying majorities in the Social Affairs Committee. In addition to the coalition parties, the Greens also voted in favor of introducing partial retirement. However, the ÖVP, SPÖ, and NEOS were unable to win over either of the two opposition parties for the sustainability mechanism and the new partial retirement provisions.
The FPÖ sees “massive deterioration” in the pension system overall and expressed disappointment that early retirement without deductions after 45 years of work, the so-called “Hacklerregelung,” will not be reintroduced. “Those who have worked for 45 years or more see no appreciation or support,” said MP Peter Wurm (FPÖ).
The bill also rejects a motion by the Greens on educational leave. According to the SPÖ, the demand for a hardship provision for people who had to interrupt their educational leave has already been taken into account.
- source: heute.at/picture: Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
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