MPK with Olaf Scholz: Bartsch sees "old age poverty avalanche in winter" - he calls for higher pensions

Created: 04/10/2022 16:17

By: Christina Denk

On Tuesday, the prime ministers will meet with Olaf Scholz to talk about the relief.

Before that, demands are raised.

The ticker for the MPK.

• MPK

  with

  Olaf Scholz

  : The heads of the federal states meet to talk about the third relief package and the financing of the price brake.

• Bartsch

  calls for

  pension increases

  : Before the MPK, the left called for further measures for pensioners.

• This

  news ticker

  for the

  Prime Ministers' Conference on October 4th

  is updated regularly.

Berlin – Third relief package and the anti-gas shield: Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz will meet with the prime ministers of the federal states in the afternoon.

The topic is the measures against the energy crisis.

Above all, the financing of the packages still seems unclear.

While the country leaders are calling for the burden to be shared, Left Party leader Dietmar Bartsch has bigger goals.

He calls for an increase in pensions – against an “old-age poverty avalanche in winter”.

MPK in the Bundestag: State leaders are calling for the price brake to be implemented quickly - "Every day counts"

Electricity and gas prices are rising and many citizens don't know how to pay the higher bills.

A third relief package with tax cuts and increased child benefits has already been approved.

In a first press conference, Chancellor Olaf Scholz also announced a "defensive umbrella" worth up to 200 billion euros to reduce gas prices.

This should run until the end of winter 2023/24 at the latest and support both consumers and companies.

The measure is to be financed with loans.

Economics Minister Habeck's gas levy was thus off the table.

However, the distribution of the costs of both measures is still being discussed.

"My expectations of the MPK on Tuesday are very clear: a constructive discussion about fair burden sharing," said Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD) of the

on Monday.

 "People finally want to know how high the relief is for them personally."

Hendrik Wüst (CDU), Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, on the rapid implementation of the gas price brake

Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia Hendrik Wüst (CDU) pushed for a quick implementation of the gas price brake.

"People finally want to know how high the relief is for them personally" and many companies are "up to their necks in water," he told the

and the

.

"Every day counts."

Bartsch calls for a pension increase before MPK – otherwise there is a risk of “old-age poverty avalanche in winter”.

In order to prevent poverty in old age due to rapidly rising energy prices, the left is also demanding an increase in the pension level.

"We need an increase in the pension level that compensates for inflation, and a minimum pension of 1,200 euros," Bartsch told the

on Tuesday.

Otherwise, due to the considerable inflation, there is a risk of an “old-age poverty avalanche in winter”.

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Dietmar Bartsch calls for a minimum pension of 1200 euros in front of the MPK.

The prime ministers of the federal states will advise on Tuesday (archive image).

© Kay Nietfeld/dpa

Bartsch referred to an evaluation by his parliamentary group, according to which the proportion of pensioners at risk of poverty in Germany had increased even before the energy shock.

Their share increased nationwide from 16.3 percent to 17.4 percent.

Wealthy federal states such as Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria are also affected by the development.

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According to the plans of the federal government, pensioners are to receive an energy subsidy of 300 euros gross as a result of the third relief package.

Gas customers also need to know about the price brake.