site.btaFiscal Council Backs Equal Social Security Contributions but Opposes Salary Compensation

The Fiscal Council supports the government's proposal to gradually align social security contribution rules for civil servants and magistrates with those applying to other employees but opposes compensating them through higher salaries, the Council said in a press release on Thursday.

Under the 2026 draft State Budget Act, civil servants and magistrates would begin paying part of their own social security contributions from August 1, 2026, under a 20:80 employee-employer split. From January 1, 2027, the ratio would change to 40:60, bringing them into line with employees in the private sector.

The Fiscal Council said it has repeatedly criticized the preferential treatment under which the state currently pays the full social security contributions for civil servants, military personnel, police officers and magistrates. It argued that the arrangement dates back to a time when civil servants were relatively poorly paid and is now unfair to other public-sector employees and workers in the private sector.

The Council welcomed the government's intention to equalize contribution rules but said the reform should also cover military personnel and police officers from August 1 to avoid maintaining different regimes for different groups of public employees.

It added that the government should use the reform to help consolidate public finances rather than offset the impact by increasing salaries. According to the Fiscal Council, the state currently pays all social security contributions for most civil servants and magistrates and 73.3% of contributions for police officers and military personnel. It noted that police and military salaries were increased substantially last year and therefore sees no justification for compensating employees affected by the change.

The Council estimated that requiring civil servants and magistrates to contribute to their own social security payments could improve the budget balance by around EUR 100 million annually, with an even greater fiscal effect if police officers and military personnel are included in the reform.