Oostenrijk
Austrians use the word “Pension” when referring to pensions and retirement in preference to “Rente”, as used in Germany.
Pensions: Persons born before 1 January 1955: women can retire at 60, men at 65. Entitlements built up must represent either 180 insurance months within the last 360 calendar months or 180 contribution months (e.g. by back-purchases of entitlements for school and study periods) or 300 insurance months without deferral.
Persons born after 1 January 1955: Women can retire from age 60 (up to 2024) or from age 65 (from 2033), men from age 65. Entitlements built up must represent at least 180 insurance months
(www.help.gv.at) (15 insurance years) (periods bringing up children (www.help.gv.at) are taken into account) and, of these, at least 84 insurance months (www.help.gv.at) (seven years) must be related to employment (also care of relatives etc.).
A pension is granted on application to the pension insurance institution. The amount of the pension depends both on the amount of contributions paid and on the age of retirement.
Part-time employment in old age: You have the option of reducing your working time to 40 60% without losing any pension entitlements. The Employment Service (Arbeitsmarktservice (AMS)) takes over between 70% and 80% of your previous income. The minimum age for part-time working in old age in 2006 stood at 51.5 for women and 56.5 for men.
Invalidity:
different terms are used for invalidity in Austrian pension insurance (for clerical workers: Berufsunfähigkeit; for manual workers: Invalidität; for self-employed persons: Erwerbsunfähigkeit).
Invalidity (clerical workers): the insured person’s capacity for work is reduced to such a degree that it amounts to less than half that of a healthy insured person with comparable professional training and equivalent knowledge and skills.
Invalidity (manual workers): capacity for work is less than half that of healthy insured persons with similar training and equivalent knowledge and skills in a comparable occupation.
Invalidity (self-employed): persons up to age 50 are not able to pursue any gainful activity because of their state of health. The amount of the pension depends both on the amount of contributions paid and on the age at which the pension is claimed.
The agencies responsible are the Pension Insurance Institute or (for the self-employed) the Social Insurance Institute for Trade and Industry (Sozialversicherungsanstalt der Gewerblichen Wirtschaft).
Survivor’s pension:
awarded to dependants of deceased persons in order to give them financial security. There must be a minimum period of cover in the pension insurance depending on age.
Widow’s/widower’s pension:
the amount of a widower’s or widow’s pension is between 0% and 60% of the pension of the deceased.
Orphan’s pension: the amount of an orphan’s pension is 40% of the widow’s/widower’s pension for single orphans or 60% of the widow’s/widower’s pension for double orphans. Widows’/widowers’ pensions and orphans’ pensions must be claimed from the institute with which the insured person was insured in the last 15 years.
In the event of industrial accidents and occupational diseases, an invalidity pension, as well as widows’/widowers’ pensions and orphans’ pensions, can be claimed under accident insurance from the Accident Insurance Institute (Unfallversicherungsanstalt).
