Inflation makes Munich pensioners despair: "Then I have to starve"
Created: 09/16/2022, 13:25
By: Patricia Huber
Those with a small pension suffer particularly from high inflation.
The example of a 60-year-old from Munich shows how difficult the development is for many.
Munich – The rising prices are affecting more and more people in Germany.
The situation is particularly difficult for those who had to make do with very little money even before high inflation.
This often affects pensioners as well, because they are often not physically able to earn anything on top of the low salaries.
Pensioners from Munich stay 65 euros a month for groceries
So does Jörg Mertens, who lives in Munich.
He has been unable to work since 2014 due to a spinal disease.
The 60-year-old is now receiving a disability pension, reports the
Berliner Morgenpost
.
He has a pension of EUR 972.70 a month.
After deducting all fixed costs, such as rent and the like, he only has 65 euros left for food and drinks.
The trained business economist, who worked in social services, now lives in a 38 square meter one-room apartment.
With his small pension, he slipped below the poverty line.
He should actually receive the basic state security.
But after the pension increase this year, this bonus of 60 euros per month was also canceled.
The job center no longer saw a need.
Living on the poverty line despite a pension: "One is dependent on grants"
For Jörg, this means planning all expenses precisely.
He always goes shopping at the beginning of the month.
"Then I try to get everything so that it lasts for the rest of the month," he tells the
Berliner Morgenpost
.
But then the 65 euros are already gone again "and I have to make do with what I have".
In order to be able to eat healthily, the pensioner grows a few vegetables such as tomatoes on his balcony.
In the winter, however, that will also disappear – and the prices in the supermarket could rise even further.
“You have to rely on receiving grants from time to time.
There is no other way."
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But it's not just the prices in the supermarket that pose a problem for the 60-year-old. Rising energy prices are also an enormous burden.
He pays 447.10 euros in rent for his socially subsidized apartment.
In addition, there is another 152 euros for heating and electricity, which are also likely to become more expensive soon due to the energy crisis.
Jörg can apply for basic security again to cover the rising heating costs, but he will probably be stuck with the rising electricity costs for the most part - with fatal consequences: "Then I'll have to starve."
My decision will then be whether I still have a heated and lighted apartment or something to eat.
Jörg Mertens, pensioner from Munich
If the rising energy costs are not slowed down, things would probably get really tight: "My decision will then be whether I still have a heated and lighted apartment or something to eat." For his 61st birthday at the end of September, the pensioner only wants one thing : "Just being able to live a single day without any worries."
(ph)