The gender pension gap in Austria and Europe
The measures many governments have taken 2020 in order to contain the coronavirus pandemic dominates the economic policy. Nevertheless, there are long-term conditions and structures which are little, if any, changed by the short-term economic business cycle. The economic inequality between women and men in the current economic system is one of these structures. The gender gap in pensions is one indicator of inequality. Country differences range from 43.1 percent (Luxembourg) to 1.1 percent (Estonia). Austria has (38.7 percent) the fourth highest gender gap in pensions within the European Union. Using recent data of the 2017 pension access cohort, the gap in old-age pensions in the statutory pension scheme (first pillar) is even higher and reaches 42.3 percent. The different levels of earned income over the course of working life explain 55 percent of the gap. The lower number of working years explains 41 percent of the gap. The different levels of partial insurance (unemployment and child care periods) explain about 4 percent of the gender gap in retirement.