Women have been retiring since last year later. The reform has so far been successful, says WiFo economist Stefan Schiman-Vukan. And still calls for further steps
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THE TIME: Since 2024, the retirement age of women has been increased by half a year annually. They have examined the consequences: unemployment of women over 60 has increased by 136 percent in just twelve months. That sounds dramatic.
Stefan Schiman-Vukan: That’s right, yes.
TIME: Is there a social emergency behind this number?
Schiman-Vukan: I would say: no. The jump looks great because there were simply not many unemployed women over 60 before. In absolute numbers, their number rose by around 2,800 from mid -2024 to mid -2025, at the same time that of the employees in this age group rose by around 19,000. This is about a ratio of one to seven: seven additional employees come to an additional unemployed woman. Without the reform, these women would no longer be in working life.
