Von Angern: Hardship fund is increasingly becoming an anger fund
Many pensioners from Saxony-Anhalt are missing out on the hardship fund. So far, decisions have been made on 1217 applications and 1031 applications have been rejected, according to figures from the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, which the Left Party requested in the Bundestag. The legal requirements had not been met in these cases, it was said. 89 out of 121 applications from Saxony-Anhalt were rejected.
"The hardship fund is increasingly becoming a rage fund for East German pensioners," said Eva von Angern, head of the Left Party parliamentary group in the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament. "If 74 percent of applications have been rejected in Saxony-Anhalt so far, then that is an outrage towards those affected." The fund excludes too many people. "The federal government must open up the hardship fund to all those entitled to it and transform it into a fairness fund."
The hardship fund was set up by the coalition government at the beginning of the year and endowed with 500 million euros. One-off payments of up to 2500 euros are possible. When a joint pension system was set up after German reunification, certain pension entitlements were not taken into account, for example for women who divorced in the GDR or from supplementary pensions for various occupational groups.
The lack of approval for many pensioners' hardship fund applications in Saxony-Anhalt has led to growing frustration among East German pensioners, turning the fund into a pensioners' anger fund. The Left Party's Eva von Angern criticizes that the hardship fund excludes too many eligible individuals, calling for the federal government to expand the fund and make it more equitable.
Source: www.dpa.com
