For many senior citizens, their pensions are barely enough to live on. But how much money do Germans actually receive on average?
Frankfurt – For many employees, retirement means one thing above all: poverty in old age. According to the German Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, every fifth person receiving a pension has less than 500 euros available to him or her each month. In addition to the consequences of the Corona pandemic, there are also rising costs for electricity and gas, reports fr.de.
But how much money do German pensioners have available on average each month? An overview of everything you need to know.
Pension: This is how much money there is on average per month
According to its own figures, the German Pension Insurance Fund paid out around 858,000 old-age pensions in 2021, including old-age pensions for those insured for many years. Around 700,000 pensions were paid out in the old federal states, and just under 158,000 in the new ones.
Differences in monthly payments were recorded primarily between women and men. But there were also significant shifts between the old and new federal states. The pension amount is to be understood less the contribution to statutory health and long-term care insurance.
Average pension of women/men in 2021
Old federal states: 809 euros/1218 euros
New federal states: 1070 euros/1141 euros
*Statistics of the German Pension Insurance (as of June 30, 2022)
Pension: Those insured for particularly long years receive significantly more
As the statistics of the German pension insurance also show, those insured for particularly long years received significantly more money in 2021. In the old federal states, men received an average of 1664 euros after 45 years of contributions, while women received 1220 euros. In the new states, on the other hand, men received an average of 1350 euros and women 1286 euros.
By no means all insured persons reached the 45 contribution years. In particular, women and men from the old federal states were on average the furthest away from this in 2021. According to the German Pension Insurance Fund, this is how many years of contributions women and men have accumulated:
Gender Contribution years on average (2021)
Men (old federal states): 40.68 years
Women (old federal states): 28.59 years
Men (new federal states): 44.39 years
Women (new federal states): 41.63 years
Statistics of the German Pension Insurance (as of June 30, 2022)
Women get less pension on average – what’s behind it
The difference that women – both in the West and East – receive less pension on average and have shorter contribution periods has been the subject of much research. “Our results suggest that starting a family is the main factor influencing the difference in pensions, although not the only one,” economist Alexandra Niessen-Ruenzi told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND).
But the choice of occupation is also crucial, she said. “For example, women more often choose social professions, which, due to the lower pay for these professions, leads to them acquiring fewer pension entitlements than men,” the expert said in the interview. Another reason, she said, is that women often work in part-time models after parental leave, which means they have fewer opportunities for advancement. (kas)
the main source of the news: https://www.merkur.de
