IW study with alarming figures: More and more pensioners, fewer and fewer contributors
Created: 01/19/2022 11:34 am
According to a survey by the German Economic Institute (IW), the gap between retirees and new workers on the German labor market is growing.
© Michael Gstettenbauer/Imago Images
In the coming years, the demographic gap between contributors and retirees will increase dramatically.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to finance your pension.
According to a survey by the German Economic Institute (IW), the gap between retirees and new workers on the German labor market is growing.
"This year, more than 300,000 people will retire than enter the labor market*," explained IW economics expert Holger Schäfer on Monday.
By 2030, the demographic gap in the labor market will add up to five million people.
Growing burden on the pension fund
According to Schäfer, the reason for the ever-growing gap is the significant size difference between the different vintages. In 2029, when around 1.4 million people born in 1964, who had a particularly high birth rate, will retire, people born in 2009, for example, will start working again - but this is only around 736,000 people, a potential difference of around 670,000 gainfully employed. First, the
time
had reported on the calculations of the IW.
"This is a problem primarily for our social security systems because they are based on allocations," said Schäfer of the AFP news agency.
Those who work must therefore provide for those who are retired*.
"If the ratio of these two groups changes, then the burden on those who are then employed will be significantly higher," said Schäfer.
"Or those who retire will receive fewer benefits."
Pension: Immigration should close gaps in the labor market
In order to counteract this development, either labor market-driven immigration can be increased or a larger number of people can be admitted to the labor market.
However, the magnitude of the difference between the years means that the growing gap can “hardly” be compensated for, said Schäfer.
What is needed is a "huge net immigration" of well-trained workers, something that has never been achieved on the necessary scale.
Many potentials have already been exhausted in the area of employment participation.
"My assessment would be that both instruments, i.e. immigration* and increasing labor force participation, will not be able to compensate for this demographic gap overall," said Schäfer.
(AFP)
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