Gender Pension Gap

Men receive almost twice as much pension

On average, men receive almost twice as much pension as women.(Bild: Wolfgang Spitzbart)

The pension gap between men and women is greater than the difference in salaries, as income differences and labor force participation add up. As of July 18, men in Upper Austria received as much pension as women on average for the whole year. Only in Vorarlberg is the day even earlier.

What the gender pay gap is for working people, the gender pension gap is for senior citizens, i.e. the difference in pensions between the sexes. In Upper Austria, this amounts to 45.4 percent this year - pensioners therefore have almost twice as much money at their disposal as female pensioners. Women receive a pension of 1300 euros, men an average of 2391 euros. This means that pensioners receive around 15,000 euros more per year than their female counterparts.

24th place in the EU average
Nationwide, the so-called "Equal Pension Day", the day on which men receive as much pension as women receive on average for the whole year, is on August 6; in Upper Austria, this day is today. It is only earlier in Vorarlberg. The EU average gender pension gap in 2022 was 26 percent, at that time Austria was in 24th place out of 27.

Long periods of part-time work
AKOÖ President Andreas Stangl sees the reasons for this striking difference in the discrimination of women in the labor market: long part-time phases, lower incomes and interruptions due to child rearing or care. In addition, women take on the lion's share of unpaid work. Stangl criticizes: "The current pension calculation completely negates the realities of women's lives. Future reforms must focus on making the pension system fairer!"

Future pension reforms must focus on making the pension system fairer for women again.

Arbeiterkammer OÖ-Präsident Andreas Stangl

Equal pay for equal work
The AK also does not see the planned pension splitting as a solution, as it does not combat female poverty in old age and ignores non-traditional family forms. In addition, the retirement age for women will be adjusted to that of men, i.e. raised to 65. The AK is therefore calling for: equal pay for work of equal value, better recognition of parental and care leave periods and a legal entitlement to full-time childcare from the age of two.