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From January 1, 2026, nursing staff will be able to retire at the age of 60 without any reduction in their pension, as the requirements for the heavy labor pension will be relaxed. According to the Ministry of Social Affairs, the regulation affects around 1,000 people per year, and the financing is still being worked out.
The federal government has now finalized the expansion of heavy labor to include nursing professions, which was announced in the spring. The corresponding regulation was approved by the Council of Ministers via circular resolution, according to a background discussion between Social Affairs Minister Korinna Schumann (SPÖ) and the social affairs spokespersons for the ÖVP and NEOS, August Wöginger and Johannes Gasser. This means that around 1,000 nursing staff per year will be able to benefit from the heavy labor pension.
Planned inclusion in heavy labor regulations decided
As previously announced, the expansion is to be implemented on January 1, 2026. From then on, nursing professions will be explicitly recognized as heavy labor. Certified health and nursing staff, nursing assistants, and nursing aides will benefit from the new regulation. Part-time workers will also be able to take advantage of the model—provided they are employed at least 50 percent of full-time hours.
Required number of heavy labor days reduced in nursing
Schumann emphasized once again that a significant step is the reduction in the required number of heavy labor days per month, which will be reduced from 15 to 12. This will make the requirements “much more realistic” in the future.
“We are now finally implementing this,” said the minister. Nursing is hard work, “both mentally and physically.” “This reform is a necessary act of appreciation” and a long-standing demand of the Chamber of Labor and trade unions.
“Promised – delivered,” said ÖVP club leader Wöginger. “We decided on this in the government negotiations, and now we are implementing it. The regulation will come into force on January 1, right on schedule.” The step is a “matter of justice,” he said. He announced that he also wanted to look at the heavy labor regulation for other occupational groups.
NEOS social affairs spokesman Gasser also expressed his “delight” at the regulation, referring to the reduction in the number of days required: “We have found that there were simply regulations in place that systematically led to discrimination” – because too few heavy labor months were identified due to the calculation of working days per month.
Around 1,000 nursing staff per year are expected to benefit
According to the Ministry of Social Affairs, a total of around 8,000 people (from all sectors) have been able to take advantage of the heavy labor regulation so far – but only a few nursing staff. With the new regulation, the government expects around 1,000 eligible persons from the nursing sector per year.
The general requirement for qualifying for the heavy labor pension is a minimum insurance period of 45 years, of which at least ten years must have been spent in heavy labor (within the last 20 years). The earliest age of eligibility is 60.
- Source: APA/picture: pixabay.com
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