Poverty hits elderly people in Germany

 

By Basil Wegener, dpa I November 2024

 

BERLIN – Around 3.2 million elderly Germans aged 65 and over are at risk of poverty, according to data from the EU statistics agency Eurostat, requested by the newly formed Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW).

The data, provided to dpa, shows a slight increase from the previous year, with 3.245 million affected in 2023, compared to 3.157 million in 2022. In 2021, the number stood at roughly 3.3 million.

Further analysis by the Statistical Office shows that these absolute figures were significantly lower in the past, with about 2.4 million elderly individuals at risk of poverty in 2013.

The risk of poverty is defined as having an income below 60% of the median after social benefits.

Populist politician Sahra Wagenknecht, leader of the BSW, described the situation as a “dramatic increase in old-age poverty.”

However, demographic changes play a role in these figures.

The number of elderly people in Germany has grown significantly, from 12 million in 1991 to 18.7 million in 2022, according to the Federal Statistical Office.

This increase means older individuals now make up a larger proportion of the population.

Wagenknecht criticized the government’s pension policies, accusing them of failing to prevent middle-class citizens from falling into poverty in retirement.

Neither Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats nor the leader of the opposition conservative CDU/CSU bloc Friedrich Merz had an answer to this crisis, Wagenknecht told dpa.

She said that ensuring good pensions is a key priority for the BSW ahead of February’s election.

The government has pledged to keep pension payments aligned with wage levels, fixing current minimum benefits at 48% of the average wage, a measure pushed by the SPD and Greens in the now-collapsed centre-left coalition.

This measure would ensure that pensions remain stable though it would cost several billions more.

With political parties sharply divided on pension reform, it is likely that major changes will need to wait for the formation of a new government.