As of: March 6, 2024, 8:00 a.m
By: Miriam Kohr
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Every cent counts: According to the study, the average pension purchasing power of a pensioner in the Freising district is 952 euros.
© HIldenbrand/dpa
The Freising district cannot shine with its place in the nationwide ranking of pensions with the highest purchasing power - on the contrary.
District
- A study by the Prognos research institute on behalf of the General Association of the German Insurance Industry (GDV) examined the combination of average regional pension payment amount and regional price level.
What you can afford in old age depends not only on the amount of your pension, but also on the price level where you live, explains Prognos study director Oliver Ehrentraut in the publication.
The comparisons resulted in a ranking of the pensions with the highest purchasing power in Germany.
In this ranking, the Freising district is in 325th place in 2021 - out of 400.
According to the study, pension purchasing power is 952 euros per month.
For comparison: The region with the highest pension purchasing power is Gera (Thuringia) with 1,437 euros per month, and the district with the lowest pension purchasing power is Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm (Rhineland-Palatinate) with 856 euros - about another 100 euros less than that Freising pensioners.
Excessively high rents in the district reduce the purchasing power of Freising pensioners
“I wouldn’t have thought that the district would be in such a bad situation,” says Heidi Kammler.
As chairwoman of the workers' welfare organization in Freising, she often has to deal with people for whom their money is not enough.
“It’s a gradual process,” she says.
First rents increase, then energy costs and now also food.
But there are also cases where the money goes missing overnight.
Kammler gives an example: “A woman who has only worked a short amount of full-time work to raise children receives little pension.
If her husband dies, who brought most of the pension with him, there is suddenly a lack of money because the costs remain.” High additional payments for electricity or heating costs have also posed problems for many pensioners.
“Here I have to stand up for the Freising municipal utilities, they are social and offer installment payments, for example,” says Kammler.
(By the way: Everything from the region is now also available in our regular Freising newsletter.)
She identifies the main problem as the high rents in the district.
The Freising Association of Welfare Associations (ARGE) repeatedly calls on the district to do more for housing construction.
“But the space is missing,” says the AWO chairwoman.
This makes the work of welfare associations all the more important.
They not only help with advice and support and their network, but also with donations, such as those from the FT “People in Need” campaign.
But Kammler knows: “It doesn’t just affect pensioners, it also affects medium-sized businesses.”
There is often not enough money for food - a great shame
Karin Linz, senior representative for the city of Moosburg, is also surprised by Freising's ranking.
“However, I suspect that pension purchasing power is so low because rent and living here in the airport catchment area are so expensive.” As a neighborhood help volunteer, she often sees pensioners who don’t even have enough money for food.
The blackboard or the Moosburg Card, which offers discounts, are helpful, but not the solution.
Manfred Schimmerer, chairman of Freisinger Tagel, is astonished: “I didn’t expect that.
The space is questionable.” According to Schimmerer, pensioners make up a small part of his clientele.
The majority are currently Ukrainian refugees.
Due to the new two-week rotation, the Tafel now has a free quota for around 30 new customers.
“Many pensioners don’t come because they’re ashamed,” he says.
But shame is completely unfounded.
“We would be very happy if more pensioners would come,” says Schimmerer.
He emphasizes: “We support where we can, but politicians are needed to find a solution to the low pension purchasing power.”
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You can find even more current news from the Freising district at Merkur.de/Freising.