Seniors - Wagenknecht: No solution yet for Christmas money for pensioners
Thuringia is the German state with the lowest average pension. On average, senior citizens and seniors received 1,366 Euro per month after at least 40 years of insurance contributions at the end of the last year. This information comes from a response of the Federal Labor Ministry to a query by Bundestag member Sahra Wagenknecht, obtained by the dpa. The eastern German average was 1.398 Euro. In Western Germany, it was 1,554 Euro on average.
With the exception of Brandenburg, all eastern German federal states were at similar pension levels - in the neighboring state of Saxony, according to the figures of the Federal Labor Ministry at the end of the last year, the average was 1,385 Euro, and in Saxony-Anhalt it was 1,378 Euro.
Pension difference of 188 Euro
"A pension of 1,366 Euro in Thuringia on average after at least 40 years of work has nothing to do with a performance-based pension system. The fact that Thuringian pensioners still receive 188 Euro less pension than in the West shows that we are still far from a pension unity. And many seniors have even less in their wallets," explained Wagenknecht. The former Left politician has founded the party Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) this year. The BSW intends to participate in the Thuringian state election on September 1.
For the Thuringian SPD and the Left, the low pension level in the Free State is a problem that needs to be addressed. SPD chief Georg Maier had recently confirmed his proposal for a Christmas bonus of 500 Euro for minimum pensioners. The money, Maier named 27 million Euro, should come from the state budget. A Christmas bonus is not a solution, but a first step, according to the SPD politician. Decisions on pension policy are a matter for the federal government.
Wagenknecht: Christmas bonus is problematic
The BSW demands higher pensions based on the Austrian model and a pension contribution cap, explained Wagenknecht. "The problem with the Christmas bonus proposal of the SPD is that only a very small group of people would be entitled to it, which would lead to new inequalities. If you do it, the payment should be extended to all pensioners with small and medium pensions."
The BSW federal chairwoman stated that instead of introducing one-time payments, it would be better to look at Austria. "If the average pensioner there has 800 Euro more per month in their wallet, it should also be possible here."
According to the German Pension Insurance Middle Germany, approximately 27,000 people went into retirement in Thuringia in the previous year.
- Sahra Wagenknecht, the founder of the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW), highlighted that senior citizens in Thuringia, one of the German federal states, receive an average pension of only 1,366 Euro per month, which is 188 Euro less than their counterparts in Western Germany.
- The BSW, a new party, aims to address this issue in the upcoming Thuringian state election on September 1.
- For the Christian Democrat Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the low pension level in Thuringia is a pressing concern.
- The SPD chief, Georg Maier, suggested a Christmas bonus of 500 Euro for minimum pensioners, amounting to 27 million Euro from the state budget, as a first step to solve this problem.
- However, Wagenknecht criticized the SPD's Christmas bonus proposal, arguing that it would only benefit a small group and create new inequalities.
- Instead, she proposed emulating the Austrian model, which provides an average pension of 800 Euro more than in Thuringia, as a long-term solution.
- The Federal Ministry of Labor in Brandenburg released statistics showing that all eastern German federal states, except Brandenburg, had similar pension levels last year, with Thuringia, Saxony, and Saxony-Anhalt ranking the lowest.
- In comparison to the pension levels in the federal states of Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, which were 1,385 Euro and 1,378 Euro respectively, according to the information from the Federal Labor Ministry, Thuringia still lags behind with a lower pension of 1,366 Euro.
