The highest pensions on average: According to the comparison, Saarland is ahead – and Bavaria behind Bremen

Created: 11/14/2022, 4:00 p.m

By: Anne Hund

What is the average salary of pensioners?

The Pension Atlas 2022 reveals it.

Find out more about the ranking by pension amount here.

Depending on the federal state, pensioners' payments differ significantly in some cases.

This is proven by the recently published pension atlas 2022 of the German pension insurance association, about which the German press agency (dpa) reported in detail.

According to the comparison, Saarland is ahead, Bremen is further behind, followed by Bavaria;

Thuringia brings up the rear.

Pension Atlas 2022: Where are the pensions highest on average?

The different pension amounts reflect differences between the regions, for example in the job market.

© Sven Simon/Imago

According to the Pension Atlas 2022, the average old-age pensions are highest in Saarland: after 35 years of insurance, pensioners there average EUR 1,593 gross per month.

North Rhine-Westphalia follows in second place with 1,564 euros per month.

Followed by Hamburg with 1,531 euros, Hesse (1,524 euros) and Baden-Württemberg (1,521 euros).

The following table shows how high the pensions in the federal states or federal areas are according to the comparison.

Retirement pensions: Average amount of the statutory gross salary (in the pension portfolio at the end of 2021)

• Saarland: 1,593 euros

• North Rhine-Westphalia: 1,564 euros

• Hamburg: 1,531 euros

• Hesse: 1,524 euros

• Baden-Württemberg: 1,521 euros

• East Berlin: 1,515 euros

• Rhineland-Palatinate: 1,492 euros

• Schleswig-Holstein: 1,483 euros

• Lower Saxony: 1,471 euros

• Bremen: 1,466 euros

• Bavaria: 1,458 euros

• Berlin West: 1,426 euros

• Brandenburg: 1,402 euros

• Saxony: 1,364 euros

• Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: 1,363 euros

• Saxony-Anhalt: 1,353 euros

• Thuringia: 1,346 euros

Source: German pension insurance

Pension Atlas 2022: Why the pensions differ

Thuringia brings up the rear in the comparison.

The gross monthly salary there, at 1,346 euros, is on average 247 euros lower than in Saarland, as dpa also reported based on the figures published by the German pension insurance.

According to the report, the sometimes considerable differences between the federal states are due to regionally different opportunities for working and earning money.

Pension comparison: women receive less on average

It is true that women in all regions receive lower pensions than men on average.

However, the Pension Atlas 2022 also says: "Overall, it is noticeable that the difference between the average pensions for men and women in eastern Germany is smaller than in the west".

The most important reason for this is: "Women in the East were less part-time employees."

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Expected pension increase in 2023

Pensions in Germany are expected to rise further in the summer.

This emerges from the new pension insurance report, as dpa also reported.

According to estimates, pensions in western Germany are expected to rise by around 3.5 percent in July and by a good 4.2 percent in eastern Germany.

According to the assessment of the German trade union federation, the increases would come too late in view of the inflation.

To compensate for high energy costs, pensioners receive a one-time payment of 300 euros in December.