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Pensioners: Same pension for the same lifetime achievement
Photo: Federico Gambarini / dpa
According to a report, an immediate increase in the East pensions to the West level would cost around one billion euros in the second half of 2021.
For this, an increase in the pension in the east by around 2.9 instead of the planned 0.72 percent is necessary, as is evident from the response of the Federal Ministry of Labor to a request from the party Die Linke, which is available to the "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung".
From 2022, the annual additional costs will then be around two billion euros per year, the answer continues.
According to the newspaper, the parliamentary group leader of the Left Party, Dietmar Bartsch, called on Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) to keep her promise to bring Eastern pensions up to the level of the West while she was still in office.
With a view to German unity, Bartsch told the newspaper: "It must not be that pensioners who were 65 years old for unity have to live almost a hundred years to experience pension unity." East Germans would have a right to an equal pension for same lifetime achievement.
"That is overdue," emphasized Bartsch.
The cost of the adjustment can be financed with one billion euros.
The pension value between East and West is to be gradually adjusted by 2024.
This indicates in euros and cents how much money is paid out for acquired pension entitlements.
According to the paper, the east value currently corresponds to 97.2 percent of the west level.
The next adjustment step is scheduled for July 1 of the current year, although the weak wage development in the Corona year 2020 does not actually allow an increase.
The pensioners in the West have to adjust accordingly to a zero round.
In theory, pensions should even go down.
But this is prevented by the so-called pension guarantee.
mik / dpa
