Deutsche Rentenversicherung, says, Germany’s state pensions service, demographic shifts, pressure in the job market and changes to pension rules mean that more and more workers are being forced to take pension cuts and go into early retirement. The average monthly rental paymetn fell by €113 a month in 2010.
But trade unions and special interest groups are saying that the raising of the retirement age to 67, which comes into effect in 2012, will only add to the problem. In 2010, figures show that 674,000 people took up a new pension, with 47.5 percent taking a cut in their monthly income because they were not yet 65. That compares to 41.2 percent five years ago and only 14.5 percent in 2000.
Right now, a pensioner who has been earning an average income for 45 years, receives €1,236 a month. Ulrike Mascher, head of the special interest group VdK, says the new retirement age of 67 will “increase the danger of old age poverty,” because few people will be able to work until that age.
“At the moment neither the conditions on the job market or the personnel policies of companies suggest that working to the limit will become the norm,” she told the newspaper. thelocal.de
Annelie Buntenbach, board member at the German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB), said it more plainly, “As long as employees barely have the chance to work to the age of 65, a pension age of 67 is basically a pension cut,” she said.
She also warned, “Employers who do not invest in the health of their workers should contribute to the financial consequences of early retirement.” thelocal.de
