The number sounds shocking: Compared to the previous year, the number of over-indebted pensioners aged 70 and over increased by 45 percent. Creditreform has determined this for its debtor atlas in 2019. Among 60- to 69-year-olds, the number of households with financial problems has risen by more than 15 percent. Together, there are now well over a million people over 60 years, sinking into debt.
Although the share of over-indebted people among retirees is still lower than among young people, says the Creditreform study. But the trend is much worse among seniors: In the past five years, the number of over-indebted pensioners has tripled. For younger people, however, the number of over-indebted households fell significantly.
What bothers the debt researchers in the study: The hopelessness of over-indebted pensioners. You can not significantly improve your income. Therefore, it is twice as difficult for them to get out of the debt trap as with young people. "With retirement, the chances for older people to drastically reduce their economic situation," says the study.
Many pensioners do not realize their claims
It is fitting to the concerns of poverty researchers that the proportion of households in which simply too little money ("income poverty") triggers over-indebtedness has increased in the past four years by two and a half times - to just under 9 percent of over-indebted households. "A stable double trend towards poverty and old age over-indebtedness," write the experts.
Other reasons still predominate, but the classic unemployment has declined sharply, the separation is no longer so often crucial. Debt has increased due to health problems that hinder or make it impossible to practice.
Last point in the terrifying statistics: The researchers are sure that just over-indebted pensioners are insufficiently aware of the existing aid offers. They were often ashamed, or did not master the handling of the public fleshpots. This applies both to the offered assistance to the livelihood (basic security) and, for example, for the housing benefit.
The German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) has recently calculated that just over half of the one million beneficiaries of the basic pension claim their rights. When housing money say even experts that up to two thirds of the claimants do not pick up the money from the Office.
The precarious situation is reason enough to point out some simple steps that promise at least some relief for senior citizens' households:
- Electricity supplier change: One in three households has never changed supplier and draws its electricity in the basic rate of basic services, including many retiree households. New rates with cheap providers would save a lot of money. For a retiree household with 1500 kilowatt hours of electricity consumption, it is possible to get away with 80 to 100 euros per year even without a bonus hunt.
- Gas provider change: Who operates his heating itself, whether gas or oil, should learn how to deal with comparison portals. The gas provider can even save as a single for the apartment quickly 100 € a year. 2000 liters In the heating oil tank cost the cheapest dealer in the region may be 160 euros less than the most expensive.
- Handytarife: Older people are often loyal customers. Especially with the mobile phone tariffs you pay the expensive. Contracts that were completed more than two years ago cost significantly more for the same service. The same applies to landline, internet and television. Of the unspeakable practice of some providers, aufzuschwätzen expensive, superfluous contracts especially older people, quite apart.
- Rent: Older people often do not live expensive - even if they are not real estate owners. They usually have a long-term lease, the cost of rent are often reasonably limited by rent levels reasonably. And yet, there are landlords and housing companies that are not trying legal raises. In addition, older people often do not call up offered help. In the basic security, because they fear the office in a smaller (and often not cheaper) apartment to be pushed. There are actually upper limits for apartment sizes. In the housing subsidy, because they feel overwhelmed by the form Wust and also often do not know that there is no such area limit for the housing allowance. No one has to move to a smaller flat because of the housing allowance. Housing benefit is there as a load subsidy even for people who live in their own house. On the forms, however, even recognized experts fail. But Caritas, Diakonie or Arbeiterwohlfahrt help to fill out. Actually also the citizens offices.
- Health insurance: Older people are often even more dependent on a well-functioning health insurance company than younger people. But not everyone was in the working life long enough in the statutory health insurance to pay compulsorily insured in the age very few contributions. And some who could save a lot of contributions in the health insurance of retirees, this option is currently not true. Own and adopted children also help retirees to get enough contribution years - and thus compulsory insurance.
- Car insurance : Who as a retiree drives a car, pays even with the insurance on it. Seventy-five-year-olds who are accident free as long as 55-year-old and use the same type of car in the same city on an equal footing pay an average of 50 percent more for car insurance. Comparing on vehicle portals helps. Sometimes it makes more sense to have one's own children as a vehicle keeper and insurer, and in the future to benefit the senior as a second driver from the cheaper tariff.
- Current Account : Many banks have unfortunately just discovered the elderly as those customers where they can easily increase fees. Older people often do not fight back, and online banking often shy away from them. The most expensive service account for more than 10 euros a month for non-online affine customers is the banks just right.
