!!!Pensionsversicherung

Pension insurance in Austria is a branch of social insurance. It 
covers risks related to old age, reduced working capacity and death. 
In addition to pension payments, pension insurance also covers 
rehabilitation and health care. Under the  Allgemeines 
Sozialversicherungsgesetz (General Social Insurance Act) for employees 
there are three different types of pension insurance, the pension 
insurance for blue-collar workers, the pension insurance for salaried 
employees and the miners' pension insurance. Self-employed persons are 
also covered by insurance schemes, which are set out in a series of 
pension systems: GSVG (social insurance for business people), FSVG 
(social insurance for free-lance self-employed persons), NVG 
(insurance for notaries) and BSVG (social insurance for farmers).

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The insurance relationship is established ex lege or, in the case of 
voluntary membership, by application for membership and/or 
contribution payments. This insurance is financed from contribution 
payments collected from the beneficiaries and employers and by a 
further contribution on the part of the Government. In order to secure 
long-term financing of this scheme a net adjustment scheme was 
introduced in 1993. Under the scheme the index-linked pensions are 
adjusted in line with the development of working incomes as far as 
this is economically feasible; measures included restricted 
qualification for early retirement pensions, new calculation of 
working years and incentives for later retirement, gradual increase of 
working years needed in order to qualify, inclusion of freelance and 
self-employed persons into the mandatory insurance scheme and 
accompanying measures on the job market in 1996 and 1997.

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Old-age insurance covers old-age pensions, early retirement in the 
case of reduced working capacity, early retirement pensions in the 
case of unemployment, early retirement pensions in the case of 
long-term insurance and part-time retirement pensions. In cases of 
reduced working capacity the scheme covers disablement pensions, 
occupational disability pension and in the case of death, survivors' 
benefits.

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Men can benefit from their old-age pension upon completion of the 
65%%sup th/%  year, women upon completion of the 60%%sup th/%  year. 
Retirement ages are to be harmonised gradually by 2033.

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In 1997 3,038,070 insurance relationships existed in Austria 
(2,603,181 employees and 434,889 self employed); this number showed an 
increase of 10.1% as compared to 1987. The number of pensioners 
increased by 1,894,025 (14.1.%) from 1987-1997 (1,549,731 employees 
and 344,294 self employed recipients).

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 Civil servants in Austria are not included in the pension scheme as 
their employment relationship is not terminated when they retire but 
is merely changed.


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