In this short expertise, the European Centre looked at the outcomes of recent relevant reforms in Austria, among them the disability pension reform 2013 and the introduction of the low-threshold service fit2work with a focus on occupational secondary prevention. Together with the expertises for other European countries (Denmark, Sweden, United Kingdom, The Netherlands), the findings were used as input for reform policy discussions in Switzerland, given the growing number of young persons claiming disability pensions.
The resulting comparative research report "Young persons with health conditions: measures on prevention of disability benefit dependency and activation" contains an overview of selected reforms, experiences and lessons from the five European countries (Beiträge zur Sozialen Sicherheit # 3/2017 by BSV/Switzerland). Currently, it cannot be verified that countries with an increased minimum pension age within the disability insurance system are more successful in terms of work integration.
However, the results support an assumption for the further development of the disability insurance in Switzerland: The younger a person is, the more intensified efforts are needed for integration. In addition, the report shows the accordance of the basic reform targets in the comparison countries and Switzerland. The coordinated integration is promoted, whereas at the same time pensions are only granted if inevitable and as late as possible. The English version and the German version of the comparative report as well as the national report for Austria can be downloaded.