The Gender-Gap in Pensions: First Results for Austria

The study shows the extent of the pension disadvantage of women compared to men (gender gap in pensions) in the EU and the determining factors of the above-average gender gap in Austria. With 38.7 percent Austria has the fourth highest gap within the EU (EU-28 average: 30 percent).

The most significant factor is the low earned income of women, characterised by part-time and low-paid jobs. The lower number of years of employment is the socod factor of the GGP although the explanatory contribution is weaker compared with the lower incomes.

The economic situation of women and their financial independence is further under pressure due to developments in 2020. The current decline in employment and rising unemployment in sectors with low wages and a high proportion of part-time work as a result of the lockdown since March 2020 will maintain the pension gap in the medium term.

From 1 February 2019 to 31 July 2020, the Division for Women and Equality in the Austrian Federal Chancellery, in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection, the Federal Ministry of Labour, Family and Youth, the Working Life Research Centre(FORBA) and the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO), is running the EU co-financed project "TRAPEZ-Transparent Pension Future. Securing the economic independence of women in old age" by. TRAPEZ aims to analyse the gender-specific differences in old-age pensions in greater depth and to identify possible courses of action to reduce these differences and improve financial security in old age, especially for women.

The full policy brief is available here.

Further information about TRAPEZ can be found here.