Will the pension be reduced if you move east as a pensioner?

Pensioners from the West who want to spend their old age in a place of residence in East Germany fear for their pension.

For some, that's justified.

Berlin – The children are out of the house, and the desire or need to move to one of the “new” federal states is concrete: a thoroughly realistic scenario for many pensioners in Germany.

There is a lot of bureaucracy when a move has to be regulated - which affects the GEZ, among other things.

And many people who are about to retire or are already asking themselves one question: do you get a lower pension as a retiree from the old federal states because the pension value is known to be lower in eastern Germany than in western Germany?

Our overview enlightens consumers.

Moving to East Germany: Pensioners are wondering whether their pension will be reduced

First the good news: by 2025, pensioners in East and West should get the same pension - at least that is the declared goal of politics.

And the road was long: Originally, the level of pensions in the east was just under 40 percent compared to the west level - meanwhile it has increased to over 97 percent.

However, this still means a difference in the average pension, which is expressed in figures as follows: East German pensioners receive an average of 1567 euros, East German women 1563 euros.

In comparison, West pensioners receive 1875 euros, West pensioners 1617 euros.

So do you have to accept an average loss of almost 300 euros when moving to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia or Brandenburg as a pensioner?

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Moving in old age: will the pension be reduced if you move east as a pensioner?

It depends.

© photothek and imagebroker / Imago

Financial losses for certain retirees after moving from West to East

Whether the old-age pension is calculated according to the East or West value does not depend on where you live.

So just moving house does not change the pension calculation.

The decisive factor is where the pension entitlements were acquired as a pensioner.

There is a sort of "Eastern working time" and "West working time".

It becomes more complicated if you have worked as an employee in both areas of the FRG and the former GDR - then those affected have acquired some western and some eastern wage points: "Anyone who has achieved exactly the average earnings of all pension insured persons in a calendar year and has paid contributions to the pension fund accordingly is credited with one earnings point (EP).

The number of EPs can be seen from the pension notice,” it says on

.

The situation is different with the survivor's pension.

Which widow's pension you basically get depends on the old-age pension of the deceased or his disability pension.

It is irrelevant whether the bereaved lives in the east or the west.

Now comes the "but" for pensioners: When other incomes are offset against the survivor's pension, slightly higher allowances apply in the West than in the East.

“The bottom line is that widows and widowers living in the west can keep a little more of their extra income that counts toward their pension.

Whether the east or the west allowance is used as a basis depends on where those affected live," writes

.

In other words, if you move from west to east, you have to reckon with a lower allowance in the five new federal states.

Pensioners also have to accept differences in child-rearing periods

Anyone who, for example, housewives, who usually have a low pension, is dependent on the earnings points from child-rearing periods, must also take a few things into account.

For children born before 1992, there have been up to 2.5 earnings points for almost nine years.

However, the pay points from East and West have a different value.

The decisive factor is the place of residence of the parent bringing up the child - and not where the children were born.

How pensioners in East and West benefit financially from the mother's pension:

By the way, also interesting for pensioners, matching the topic: hardship fund for GDR supplementary pensions – how those affected can now get the money.

List of rubrics: © photothek and imagebroker / Imago