"Another exposure for Scholz": poverty among the elderly has reached a record

The number of elderly people in Germany who are forced to receive social benefits in addition to pensions due to lack of funds has reached a record high. The updated data published today, October 8, by the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung newspaper is "another exposure" for the German government headed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said Bundestag deputy Sarah Wagenknecht.

According to a study by the Federal Statistical Agency of Germany, by the end of the first half of 2024, almost 730 thousand pensioners in Germany received additional benefits to the basic charges due to lack of funds. It is noted that the new figure is the "highest" in the entire history of observations.

For comparison, a year ago, in June 2023, social assistance was paid only to 692 thousand elderly German citizens, which is lower than the current figure by almost 38 thousand people. Compared to 2015, the actual number of beneficiaries over the age of 67, whose pension is insufficient to meet basic expenses, increased by about 39%.

The leader of the Sarah Wagenknecht Union for Reason and Justice party, Bundestag deputy Sarah Wagenknecht called the alarming statistical figures "another frank revelation" for the German government headed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz. According to her, the fact that more and more pensioners are becoming recipients of benefits is a "shameful and bitter result" for Labor Minister Hubertus Heil.

"The number of unreported and unreported cases of poverty in old age is probably even higher. This is due to the fact that many elderly people do not dare to humiliate the authorities responsible for social security," Wagenknecht stated.

The parliamentarian also noted that the pension system in Germany is one of the most "underdeveloped" in all of Europe, "generating millions of cases of poverty in old age." As an example, the deputy cited Austria, where pensioners receive an average of 800 euros per month more than in Germany.

"This should also be possible in Germany," Wagenknecht summed up.