Social
Criticism from the SPD and FDP of income testing for basic pensions
According to the Funke media group, numerous basic pension recipients have reported to social and welfare associations that their salaries were reduced after the income test. photo
© Jan Woitas/dpa
Anyone who has paid into the pension fund for at least 33 years but earns below average can receive a basic pension. Before that, however, there is still a regular income increase.
Pension experts from the SPD and FDP carry out regular income checks at the Basic pension questioned. The SPD has always advocated that the basic pension is paid out if necessary without income or asset testing, said Tanja Machalet, pension policy spokeswoman for the SPD in the Bundestag, to the newspapers of the Funke media group. The compromise had to be accepted in order to be able to pass a basic pension in the last black-red coalition. “Unfortunately, the result is that the income test not only leads to unnecessary expense for pension insurance, but also creates problems for those who need the basic pension to live.”
There is also criticism of the income test from the FDP. “It is too bureaucratic, does not reach those who need it precisely and consumes horrendous administrative costs,” said Anja Schulz, pension policy spokeswoman for the FDP parliamentary group of the Funke media group. Every fourth euro that is spent on the basic pension does not end up with the pensioners, but rather where the annual recalculation of the income credit takes place.
The basic pension was introduced at the beginning of 2021 for people who had paid contributions to the pension fund for at least 33 years but earned below average wages. It is a supplement to the pension. According to figures from 2023, a total of around 1.1 of the approximately 21 million pensioners will benefit from this. The income verification takes place annually. For the full surcharge, the monthly income as a pensioner can be a maximum of 1,375 euros for single people or 2,145 euros for married couples or life partners. The taxable income, the tax-free part of the pension and capital gains are checked.
According to the Funke media group, numerous basic pension recipients reported to social and welfare associations at the beginning of the year that their salaries had been reduced following the income test.