Pension provision
Many pensioners have a net income of less than 1250 euros
Many senior women in particular receive a comparatively low statutory pension. photo
© Marijan Murat/dpa
“Pensioners are the main losers from inflation,” says left-wing politician Dietmar Bartsch, referring to the latest figures from the Federal Statistical Office.
Four out of ten pensioners in Germany (42.3 percent) have to have one Net income of less than 1250 euros per month. Of the almost 7.5 million people affected, more than 5.2 million are women, according to calculations by the Federal Statistical Office at the request of Left-wing Bundestag member Dietmar Bartsch.
That is more than 53 percent of all pensioners in Germany. The Germany editorial network (RND, Sunday) first reported on the figures available to the German Press Agency. In its evaluation, the Federal Statistical Office refers to the initial results of the 2022 microcensus.
One in four pensioners (26.4 percent) have a personal net income of less than 1,000 euros. Here too, the proportion of women is significantly higher. 36.2 percent of female pensioners earn less than 1,000 euros, while 13.9 percent of female pensioners earn less than 1,000 euros.
“The pensioners are the main losers from inflation,” Bartsch told the RND. “In 2024 they are threatened with real loss of purchasing power for the fourth year in a row.” He called on the federal government to implement a one-off and additional pension increase of ten percent this year, which should at least compensate for inflation.
According to the German Pension Insurance, the average gross pension for men in 2022 was 1,728 euros. Women received an average of 1,316 euros.
Pension insurance: Often “retirement income from other sources”
A spokesman for the German Pension Insurance said that looking at claims from statutory pension insurance alone only provides limited information about the income situation of pensioners. “In many cases, these retirement income comes from other sources, such as company pensions, income from a partner or claims for survivor benefits derived from this,” said the spokesman.
He referred to the federal government’s old-age security report from 2020. “According to this, married couples in Germany achieve an average net total income from old-age security benefits and additional income of 2,907 euros per month,” said the spokesman. “Among single people aged 65 and older, men receive an average total income of 1,816 euros, while for women it is 1,607 euros.”
Heil: Package for long-term pension protection is coming
Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil announced on Saturday that he wanted to soon launch the long-term pension security package that had been announced for months. “The draft law is available and should be implemented quickly after the budget resolution. We are stabilizing the pension and securing the pension level,” said the SPD politician to the “Rheinische Post”. The plan is to secure an existing holding line for the pension level of 48 percent in relation to wages in the long term. This so-called holding line currently applies to the level of statutory pension coverage until 2025.