Immigration sustains Austria’s pension system, AK says

Workers with an immigration background are helping to sustain Austria’s pension system, the Vienna Chamber of Labour said Tuesday, citing a study that found their numbers among contributors rose sharply. ORF reported that between 2019 and 2025, the number of contributors with an immigration background increased by 365,000, while the number without one fell by 155,000. Overall, the number of contributors rose by 210,000; without immigration, it would have declined, the chamber said.

Chamber president Renate Anderl rejected claims that people with a migration background weaken the pension system. The key issue, she said, is who pays into the system and for how long.

About a quarter of pension contributions, amounting to 11 billion to 12 billion euros a year, are now paid by people with an immigration background, said Wolfgang Panhölzl, head of the chamber’s social insurance department. He said this group contributes more than it receives in benefits overall, citing shorter periods in retirement, lower pension amounts and lower life expectancy. Many are also younger and have not yet retired.

The study by the Dema Institute analyzed the structure of Austria’s workforce and pension-insured population and projected it through 2035. It used Statistics Austria microcensus data from the previous seven years. Study author Günther Ogris said earlier analyses had significantly underestimated immigration’s role in the pension system.

Ogris said employment in Austria had grown solely through immigration since 2019. He identified the low birth rate, rather than immigration, as the underlying challenge for pensions, and said helping people with an immigration background enter the workforce was important.

The chamber called for faster recognition of qualifications, good childcare and accessible German courses alongside work. It also said employment potential among older people, involuntary part-time workers, particularly women, and unemployed people should be better used.

The chamber said the pension system faces a historic generational shift as the baby-boom generation retires and the number of workers without an immigration background declines. Asked whether the statutory retirement age should be raised if immigration did not continue, Anderl said that would only be an option if most people could remain employed until the standard retirement age, adding that Austria was far from that situation.