As of: March 7, 2024, 5:00 a.m
By: Felix Herz
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Almost half of pensioners only have a net income of 1,250 euros per month.
This statistic recently caused horror.
What is the situation in Bavaria?
Munich – Many pensioners in Germany live in poverty and have to make do with a low net pension income.
Inflation has recently reinforced this trend.
Left-wing Bundestag member Dietmar Bartsch recently requested statistics from the Federal Statistical Office on how much net pension seniors receive in Germany.
The answer caused a stir.
1,250 euros net per month – how meaningful is this statistic?
The result of Bartsch's statistical inquiry: Four out of ten pensioners in Germany receive less than 1,250 euros net per month.
Bartsch called these figures an “indication of poverty” and demanded that pensions urgently need to be adjusted, at least due to inflation.
The BR has now taken a closer look at this money - and asked: How meaningful is this information from the Federal Statistical Office?
How are pensioners doing in Bavaria?
Nationwide, the net income here is an “indication of poverty,” Left MP Bartsch said.
Is that correct?
(Symbolic image) © Wolfgang Maria Weber / IMAGO
First of all, there is the question of representativeness: According to the BR, looking solely at the net work pension is inadequate because, for example, the widow who has worked little or not at all in her life but lives in the villa of her deceased husband , also included.
Also the civil servants who started their careers in the public service, paid pension contributions there, but now receive impressive pensions - but also very low pensions.
These and many other groups distort the picture of average net retirement income.
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Aspect of the pension: The regional purchasing power – and that leaves a lot to be desired in Bavaria
Does that mean it's not all that bad?
No.
A good example of why net pension income in Bavaria is problematic is the regional purchasing power and its differences.
How much do you get from 1,000 euros in pension?
The General Association of the German Insurance Industry determined this for 401 districts in Germany.
The result was that in Munich the real purchasing power for a pension of 1,000 euros is only 763 euros - while in the Lüchow-Dannenberg district (the cheapest district) it is 1,145 euros.
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This is the top and bottom of the list, but shows how big the differences can be and what determines purchasing power.
In conclusion, a pensioner with a net pension income of 1,500 euros could say that he would rather live on 1,717 euros of real purchasing power per month in Lüchow-Dannenberg than on 1,144 euros in Munich.
The numbers from the Bavarian State Office for Statistics on the 2022 pension
In 2022, pension benefits totaling 46.19 billion euros were paid out to 2.72 million citizens aged 65 and over
Men received an average of 19,241 euros per person and per year.
Women received 15,250 euros.
Gross annual benefits paid out from the statutory pension insurance: men 17,068 euros, women 13,561 euros.
Women are more affected than men - inequality is particularly high in Bavaria
Another problem: gender inequality.
According to BR, this already exists in the federal government - there women are 53.5 percent more below the 1,250 euro threshold than men.
In Bavaria it is even 56.9 percent.
The problem of old-age poverty presents a somewhat better picture if one looks not at the net pension income of individuals, but rather at household income, writes the BR.
But this shows that single pensioners are most at risk.
Pensioner reality in Bavaria – is it a “proof of poverty”?
Many pensioners in Bavaria live in precarious financial situations.
This is shown by the statistics, the purchasing power in Bavaria, especially in Munich, does the rest.
However, just looking at the statistics of net pension income is insufficient and can lead politicians to make the wrong adjustments.
It is important to check who receives how much aid from which security system, summarizes the BR.
One could start here by taking taxes and duties into account - for example, the German Social Association is calling for tax-free inflation compensation for pensioners.
(fhz)
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