social
Widow’s pension: “Wirtschaftswise” defends the splitting idea
The “Wirtschaftswise” Monika Schnitzer made a push for the widow’s pension. photo
© Michael Kappeler/dpa
The chairwoman of the Economic Wise Men is sticking to her idea of pension splitting. Monika Schnitzer wants to create more incentives to get back to work.
Her idea is to distribute all the pension contributions and pension entitlements paid in by a married couple equally to both spouses – she calls it “pension splitting”. Depending on the reform, it would typically be more about new marriages. There would always be a protection of trust. How many widowers and widows could be affected, they “cannot say in numbers,” she replied.
Union politicians had sharply criticized the push for widows’ pensions. The Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) tweeted: “Hands off the widow’s pension! This is an attack on many families and the life plans of many women”.
The current situation
The widow’s/widower’s pension is currently between 55 and 60 percent of the deceased partner’s pension. It is not limited in time. If the surviving dependent has his or her own income, it will be offset against the widow’s/widower’s pension if it exceeds a certain exemption amount. The allowance depends on the current pension value. If the surviving partner remarries, the widow’s/widower’s pension no longer applies under the old and new legal situation.
With the proposal, Schnitzer wants to create more incentives to get back to work: “Then half of these pension entitlements belong to me and I can earn even more, sometimes acquire my own entitlements and nothing will be deducted from that,” added Schnitzer.