2024-06-12 08:17:36
The AfD was notably profitable within the European elections in East Germany. However why was that? There are definitely huge variations on the subject of pensions.
A rift is operating by way of Germany: Whereas the vast majority of individuals within the west voted for the CDU within the European elections, within the east they voted for the AfD. However the distinction between the outdated and new federal states is just not solely evident within the EU elections. There are additionally nonetheless enormous variations on the subject of pensions.
Greater than 30 years after German reunification, the pension worth was equalized final yr – sooner than deliberate. The rationale was that wages within the East had beforehand risen considerably greater than within the West.
This yr, the pension adjustment in each East and West Germany is 4.57 p.c, which means the present pension worth will rise from 37.60 euros to 39.32 euros. “The East has fought for this adjustment for a very long time,” says Joachim Ragnitz, deputy head of the Dresden department of the Ifo Institute, t-online.
However, the common pension within the jap German states is under the nationwide common, excluding East Berlin. On the finish of 2022, the common gross pension in Germany was 1,550 euros. Thuringia is on the backside of the record with a pension of 1,427 euros, adopted by Saxony-Anhalt with 1,434 euros and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania with 1,443 euros.
In East Berlin, the gross pension is presently at 1,598 euros, which is 48 euros above the common. What’s particular is that the pensions of girls within the East are sometimes increased than these of pensioners within the West.
The distinction between the common pensions for women and men can be smaller in jap Germany than within the west. The rationale: longer working histories. Girls within the east had been much less prone to work part-time than within the west. In consequence, the earnings variations between women and men are smaller there.
General, the distinction in statutory old-age pensions between East and West Germany is “not all that nice,” says Ifo economist Ragnitz. “What’s essential, nonetheless, is that pensioners within the West usually obtain increased personal pensions. Firm pensions are additionally decrease in East Germany,” explains the professional. “In consequence, the variations between East and West can rapidly turn out to be important.”
Ragnitz, in the meantime, contradicts an evaluation carried out by the Prognos Institute on behalf of the German Insurance coverage Affiliation (GDV) initially of the yr. The evaluation confirmed that retired individuals in jap Germany are extra financially comfy than these within the west.
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In line with the examine, the ratio of housing prices to pension earnings was most favorable in 2021 within the Thuringian metropolis of Gera. The typical month-to-month pension buying energy of 1,437 euros was considerably increased than the nationwide common of 1,036 euros. After Gera, 4 different jap German municipalities comply with within the prime 5: Chemnitz, Cottbus, Görlitz and the Spree-Neiße district. In distinction, regional pension buying energy was lowest in western Germany and within the south, particularly in Bavaria.
What the examine doesn’t bear in mind, in line with professional Ragnitz, are different sources of earnings for pensioners – comparable to rental earnings or capital earnings. However the East continues to be lagging behind on this space, as proven by a particular evaluation by the Federal Statistical Workplace, which the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) reported on.
In line with the examine, the common annual earnings for West Germans in retirement is 25,362 euros, whereas for East Germans it’s 21,760 euros. “Retirement incomes are typically decrease within the East,” says Ragnitz.
However the economist doesn’t see this as the explanation for the inflow to the AfD. “The pensioners are doing comparatively effectively,” he says. However: “Many individuals worry that they are going to be left behind; they really feel that their existence is threatened by the visitors gentle coalition.”
He cites the structural change that has been initiated for example. “Individuals within the East are anxious about their jobs.” Older staff, i.e. future retirees, are notably affected by the restructuring of their firm. “They’re afraid of the longer term, of falling behind within the structural change.”