49 euros less purchasing power per month: Inflation hits pensioners particularly hard

Created: 07/18/2022, 16:57

By: Lisa Mayerhofer

The traffic light relief package is intended primarily to support people with low incomes.

However, pensioners hardly benefit while they have to cope with higher financial burdens.

Berlin – In July there will be a significant pension increase for all retirees – but the ever-rising inflation is as good as nullifying this.

High energy and food prices are putting pressure on people on low incomes.

According to a survey commissioned by the German Retail Association (HDE), more than a quarter of the population is now very afraid of not getting by with the money. 

Unfortunately, pensioners are suffering from inflation - and hardly benefit from the relief package

In order to cushion the consequences of inflation, the federal government has therefore put together relief packages for the citizens.

The retirees go but pretty empty.

Among other things, you do not benefit from the energy price flat rate or the child bonus.

The Institute for Macroeconomics and Business Cycle Research (IMK) of the union-affiliated Hans Böckler Foundation has recently recalculated to what extent the measures can mitigate the impact of inflation on consumers' wallets.

The relief is therefore highest for families with basic security, for couples with two children who are dependent on social assistance it is even 91 percent.

Families with low and middle incomes also benefit properly from the measures in the relief package – provided both parents are employed and thus receive the flat-rate energy price allowance.

Low-income pensioners: relief of just ten percent

On the other hand, the situation is different for citizens who receive a pension: According to IMK calculations, retirees living alone without housing benefit and whose net income is less than 900 euros per month only receive a relief of just ten percent.

In this case, the additional expenses are 657 euros per month, while the relief is only 69 euros.

This means that pensioners living alone with low income and no housing allowance have to cope with an additional burden of 588 euros a year, reports ZDF, citing the IMK figures.

That's 49 euros a month.

For comparison: The family in the basic security receives a relief of 850 euros;

you are left with a charge of 81 euros.

For a family with a net income of 3,600 to 5,000 euros per month, the burden amounts to 890 euros – with a relief of 1,036 euros.

Many retirees draw a small pension: almost 600,000 of them receive less than 1,000 euros a month.

In summary, the IMK speaks of an "overall extensive and socially largely balanced relief" through the measures taken by the federal government.

Only among pensioners is there a "social imbalance." Incidentally, the researchers calculated the effect of the relief package for the first time in April - at that time the relief was even higher.