Luxury means different things to different people. "I allow myself to go out for a coffee once a week", says pensioner Monika Hillen from Speyer, but adds: "It could have been cheaper". For her, a monthly travel card for Germany is also a luxury. "I also give myself a so-called Deutschlandticket (this monthly travel card currently costs 58 euros a month – ed. note.). With it, I try to travel once a week, bringing a bottle of water from home. I just try not to spend money unnecessarily", says the 73-year-old woman.
Monica Hillen doesn't have much: she receives only 550 euros in pension per month – even though she has worked her whole life. So small things like drinking coffee outside have become a luxury for her, writes the German public broadcaster ARD.
The pensioner from Speyer never imagined that she could live in poverty in her old age. She worked for 49 years, completed a specialized training as a salesperson right after school and worked until the age of 63.
42% receive less than 1,000 euros in pension per month
Since Hilen did not earn well, she did not contribute much to the mandatory pension insurance. Today, her pension is correspondingly low, and she has no additional private insurance. To make ends meet, the pensioner relies on food donations: once a week she receives a whole basket delivered to her home by the Silbertaler organization.
The Speyer project supports elderly people in need, for whom many things in the supermarket are a luxury: “This means a lot to me, because due to poverty in my old age I wouldn't be able to afford fruit and vegetables at the current prices”, Monika Hillen explains to ARD.
Because of her low pension, she receives social assistance - an additional around 520 euros per month from the state. Hillen is not an isolated case: according to the Federal Ministry of Labor, more than eight million pensioners in Germany live on a pension of less than 1,000 euros per month - 42 percent of the country's total of around 19 million pensioners. Three million of them rely on state assistance - just like Hilen, who nevertheless remains below the poverty line of 1,378 euros per month.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, the largest share of German social benefits now goes to supporting people with reduced working capacity and the elderly. In 2024, these benefits, which are fully financed by the state, which provides the funds to the states, will amount to 11.4 billion euros. This is an increase of 13.3 percent compared to the previous year. It is noteworthy that 60% of all recipients of these benefits in the country are women, the ARD points out.
The need for donations is growing
This trend is also observed at the Silbertaler organization in Speyer, which mainly cares for elderly women who would not be able to manage financially on their own - and requests for help are increasing. In order to have enough space for the donated food, they had to rent a larger hall. "We regularly receive inquiries", says Griseldis Ellis, founder of the Silbertaler project.
According to a recent report by the Parity Charity Union, poverty among the elderly is one of the main social problems in Germany. The risk of falling into poverty in old age has increased significantly - it currently stands at around 20 percent for the entire country.
Should everyone pay into the pension system?
For Regine Schuster from the Parity Charity Union of Rhineland-Palatinate, this is a worrying signal: "Everyone who has worked for 45 years should be able to feel secure in old age and be able to live on their pension," she tells ARD. The expert believes that it is time to replace the current pension insurance with a new system in which all workers, including civil servants and the self-employed, pay contributions to the pension system.
The Minister of Social Policy of Rhineland-Palatinate, Görte Schall, is skeptical: "The transition to a system in which everyone pays contributions to the pension system is a very long process and does not solve the current problems." In addition, the question of other assets arises. "I think it is important that other assets are also included in the entire social security system, for example income from real estate, etc. That would be fair."
In this way, assets such as rental income or capital income would also contribute to the financing of the social system. It is unlikely that such an inclusion of assets in the pension system will be resolved quickly. In the meantime, it is clear that poverty does not only mean saving on food – it also affects health.
Nelle Wilk works at the social organization "Poverty and Health" in the city of Mainz. She says that one in five people who sought help here last year were over 61 years old. "More and more elderly people who live in poverty are coming to us because some of them do not have health insurance. Some of them are paying off loans and therefore do not go to the doctor", she tells ARD. "Some elderly people even admit that they have suicidal thoughts because they feel that they are no longer part of society and have lost the will to live", she adds.
Author: Luisa Szabo