Social Insurance
The statutory social insurance is the most important part of the Austrian social security system.
Social security means protection against various risks in life, such as illness, accidents, the inability to work and the problems of old age, as well as the related consequences.
The social insurance system is the most significant element in the field of social policy with regard to both the number of persons protected as well as the amount of money involved.
In a narrower sense, the social insurance system in Austria consists of:
- the statutory pension insurance system;
- the statutory health insurance system, and
- the statutory work accident insurance scheme.
Reform of the Social Insurance Institutions 2019-2020
The Social Insurance Organisation Act (SV-OG) has led to the restructuring of the social insurance institutions. These are the institutions that are tasked by the state to implement legislation on social insurance. Further information on the reform is provided in the section on the structural reform of the social insurance system.