As of: January 24, 2024, 5:10 a.m
By: Lars-Eric Nievelstein
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The federal government has announced an increase in pensions.
Exactly how this will turn out will be determined over the course of the spring.
Initial forecasts show what the pension increase could look like.
Berlin - The last time pensions increased was on July 1, 2023. It is expected that Germany's senior citizens will also be able to look forward to a pension increase in the new year.
According to a forecast published last year, the increase in 2024 is expected to be 3.5 percent.
How much pension can new pensioners expect?
Pension increase West (2023) |
4.39 percent |
|---|---|
Pension increase East (2023) |
5.86 percent |
Expected pension increase in 2024 (Germany) |
3.5 percent |
Pension increases will no longer be separated into East and West in the future
Normally, the federal government adjusts pensions annually, taking into account nationwide wage developments.
For comparison: In 2023, pensions rose by 4.39 percent in the west, but by 5.86 percent in the east.
However, there will no longer be such a clear difference in the future.
With the last increase, the pension value within the new federal states rose to the “western level” - from now on the annual adjustment should be the same for all federal states.
According to the current figures, the increase would have the following impact on current pensions.
What the pension adjustment will look like on July 1, 2024 has not yet been finally determined.
The decision should be made next spring.
The 3.5 percent emerged from a draft of the pension insurance report from the federal government, which
dpa
reported on.
Experts were still expecting a higher plus in December.
In some cases there was talk of six percent.
42 percent are close to the poverty line
Many pensioners are currently living close to the poverty line.
Just a few days ago, Green Party leader Ricarda Lang caused a stir with Markus Lanz - in her opinion, the average pension rate is around 2,000 euros.
Figures from the Federal Statistical Office show a different reality: According to them, more than seven million pensioners in Germany live on less than 1,250 euros net.
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Pension increase in 2024: This is what the pension looks like after 3.5 percent © IMAGO / Michael Gstettenbauer
The number comes from a current survey at the request of Left-wing MP Dietmar Bartsch.
The Tagesschau and the RND reported previously.
Many pensioners live on the verge of poverty – or even below it.
Bartsch spoke of a “demonstration of poverty for our country”.
Pension package II – “Draft law should get underway quickly”
In the future, Pension Package II is intended to strengthen pensions.
This includes, among other things, plans for a share pension (generational capital), which is intended to relieve the burden on pension insurance in the long term.
The government also plans to build up a capital stock whose income will stabilize pension levels and feed pension contributions.
“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 Hubertus Heil (SPD), Federal Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, to the
Rheinische Post
.
With the pension package, the traffic light wants to secure the existing “holding line” for the pension level of 48 percent in relation to wages.
The holding line currently applies to the level of statutory pension coverage until 2025.