Overview
- The 13-member Merz–Bas commission meets today to examine designs for a possible statutory age of 70, including how early-exit deductions and rewards for later retirement would work.
- Members are also debating whether civil servants and politicians should be required to pay into the statutory system, a change not currently in place.
- The panel plans to publish first recommendations in spring 2026, with full reform proposals due by mid‑2026 for potential government action.
- Die Linke has advanced an alternative financing plan to shift 60% of contributions to employers, pointing to Austria’s higher employer rates and average pensions roughly €800 a month higher.
- Economists such as Bernd Raffelhüschen urge a swift increase tied to life expectancy plus steeper early‑retirement deductions and a stronger sustainability factor, while unions and parts of the SPD are expected to oppose higher ages.