As of: February 10, 2024, 12:00 p.m
By: Lennart Schwenck
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A pensioner from Hamburg is struggling with rising living costs.
Her story is an example of poverty in old age in Germany.
Hamburg – Inflation is putting increasing pressure on older people in Germany in particular, and women are particularly affected.
Statistics from the
German Pension Insurance
show that, according to the 2023 insured person report, every second pensioner will have to get by on around 1,200 euros.
Karin Schulz is one of them.
The 66-year-old from Hamburg has worked for 35 years.
Today she receives a monthly pension of 1,205.38 euros, as described in the
Hamburger Morgenpost
.
After deducting all duties and taxes, she is left with just under 1,000 euros.
After taking all fixed expenses into account, she still has 650 euros left to take care of herself and her dog.
Enough to spend the rest of your life with dignity?
The constant fear of the impending descent into old-age poverty is growing.
Old-age poverty despite pension: Why women in Germany are more affected than men
Karin Schulz is already poor.
According to the definition, people living alone in Germany are considered poor if their income does not exceed 1,250 euros per month.
In her youth, Karin Schulz completed banking training in the GDR, more precisely in Salzwedel.
After the fall of the Wall and reunification, Schulz moved to Hamburg in 2003.
When money becomes tight as you get older: Women in Germany are more affected by old-age poverty than men.
The story of a Hamburg pensioner is food for thought.
(Symbolic photo) © Schoening/Imagp
In Germany, women in particular are affected by poverty in old age.
According to
the Federal Statistical Office,
the at-risk-of-poverty rate in the age group over 65 was 20.3 percent for women, but only 15.9 percent for men.
20.6 percent of women aged 75 and over were at risk of poverty.
Men in this age group at 14.2 percent.
The reasons for the gender-specific differences result from lower employment - for example due to parental leave - and the income of women over 30. This leads to lower pension entitlements.
Despite paying into the pension fund: health problems pose a high risk of poverty in old age
In contrast to other pensioners, Karin Schulz is still doing relatively well, as she emphasized to the
Hamburger Morgenpost
.
She owns the apartment in Hamburg.
As a property appraiser for the bank, she knew that owning a home was a good financial decision.
Although she is still paying off the loan, the payments are cheaper than the rent for a new apartment.
She also receives some housing benefit.
However, Hamburg is not one of the cheapest regions in Germany for pensioners.
But twelve years ago her health deteriorated so much that she was forced to give up work and go on disability pension.
Since she no longer paid any contributions into the pension funds during these years, her pension is correspondingly low.
She has been retired for two years now.
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The total monthly costs are 475 euros.
However, interest rates are rising and their electricity costs have also doubled in the past year.
“I don't think everything is fair, but I've come to terms with it.
I can’t change it,” the 66-year-old explains to the
Hamburg daily newspaper
.
Dissatisfaction with the federal government: Many people lack money
The story of the woman from Hamburg is causing a lot of conversation on social networks.
In a Facebook post, numerous users discussed the pension example and expressed their current dissatisfaction with the federal government's budget management.
One user comments: “People work primarily to make a living and not with the main goal of getting a good pension later.
The amount and duration of the pension is not fixed during the working life.
When I work now, what is primarily important to me is how much money I get out of it.”
The dissatisfaction is also reflected in the current survey results from the election research institute Infratest dimap.
Infratest dimap was commissioned by ARD to carry out a monthly representative election survey among the population.
According to this, the assessment of the federal government and the coalition leaders remained largely critical in February.
As in the previous month, only 17 percent of German citizens are satisfied with the traffic light's performance.
(ls)