The evolution of pension insurance legislation in Germany and Austria in the 19th–20th centuries: “pain points” and ways to overcome them

The process of development of pension insurance system in Germany in Austria in 19^th and 20^th centuries is studied. It is highlighted that the era of industrialization led to significant social changes, which entailed the need to create pension systems that would be able to meet the needs of vulnerable citizens groups – the disabled and the elderly. The research examines the question of how social pension insurance systems developed in Germany and Austria in the context of “delayed” industrialization and analyzes approaches to the formation of pension systems. The aim of the study is to examine the “search” of Austrian and German legislators in creating an optimal system of social pension insurance. Disability and old age pension insurance in the history of Germany is associated with the social reforms of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. In the Austrian Empire, the search in this direction began during the reign of Maria Theresa (1740–1780) and Joseph II (1780–1790) and continued in the party concepts and parliamentary battles of the Austrian parliament in the early twentieth century. The pension laws of Austria and Germany acquired a modern look after the fall of the fascist regimes. It is concluded that pension insurance legislation in Germany and Austria in the late XIX – first half of the XX century developed in the context of acute political struggle and the search for optimal options. The practical significance of the research lies in the study of the positive and negative experiences of social pension insurance systems that have developed and continue to operate in Germany and Austria at the present time.