the Bundestag and the Bundesrat have adopted at the end of last week, the basic pension law. Labour and social Minister Hubertus Heil was able to bring his "respect pension" – even if heavily watered down – through the parliamentary process.

a pension provision for long-term Insured, the amount to between 30 and 80 percent of average earnings, will in the future be seen under certain conditions, up to the last-mentioned percentage is high. Then, the calculated surcharge will be reduced again to 12.5 percent, because the Union would otherwise have seen those with higher incomes at a disadvantage, which would, without surcharge the same value of a pension. About the guest author

Prof. Dr. Christoph Butterwegge taught from 1998 to 2016 political science at the University of Cologne. The last of his books are "right-wing populists in Parliament. Polemic, Agitation and Propaganda of the AfD," as well as "The torn Republic. Economic, social and political inequality in Germany“ appeared.

wrangling over the basic pension

About ten years in the party have fought a politically diverse government coalitions, whether whether the people, which, despite a work life rich do not manage to reach an old-age pension above the age of three, the walk to the welfare office should be spared, and if so, how can this be done best.

None of the discussed models "grant retirement", "life pension", "social pension" and "solidarity live performance retirement" – has prevailed. Always there was the case of the CDU/CSU and FDP economic forces that blocked a compromise solution, or in the case of the SPD's leading politicians, who offered no energetic resistance to the idea.

finally, it came to a tug-of-war between the government parties CDU, CSU and SPD. While the SPD only came in the reigning coalition government, because they had negotiated the basic pension in the coalition Treaty, boycotted the CDU and the CSU, the project from the beginning. As a welcome hanger for you in the coalition agreement-brought-means test was used by the Union parties initially. With this, it would not be a pension for the longterm insured Low-income women and low-income earners traded, but a social power, which was able to accept the SPD impossible.

Instead, the government parties agreed after months of wrangling on a "comprehensive means test" by the German pension insurance, not to saw the implementation of these due to the necessary expenses, without increase in Personnel, however, even in the situation. One can only hope that not too many poor in their old Age to die, before the authority has assessed your claim – time for a decision until 31 remains, according to the Parliament. December 2022!

More to the basic pension, you can read here...

the basic pension as a "bureaucracy monster"

you Had made the basic pension by their constant objections becoming more and more complicated and difficult to implement, denounced the CDU and the CSU, the proposed basic pension is now considered to be a "bureaucracy monster", they could not agree. As the coalition partners met again in order to save the socialist prestige project, appeared to the Union parties to the financing suddenly as "frivolous" because of the Federal budget should not be impacted by the Vice Chancellor and Olaf Scholz and his Plan failed to cover the costs on a financial transaction tax on the European level.

at The same time the defence budget was increased, however, equal to five billion euros, and then again to two billion euros, without the CDU and CSU, which were the defence Minister, saw in this case, the lowest financing problem. The reason pension costs in the agreed Form between EUR 1.3 billion (2021) and EUR 1.6 billion (2025) per year. According to the Union, come to 400 million Euro of which from the Sozialetat. The small grant for long-term Insured can look forward with low pension entitlements that women, and especially in Eastern Germany, but not of other be at the expense of social spending.

to help As the Covid-19 pandemic, the Federal measures and bailouts for companies, prompting, had to serve the high costs and the strong increase in government debt as a further pretext, to prevent the economic wing of the CDU and the CSU, the basic pension was looking for. On the same day as the basic pension, adopted a supplementary budget was just with his new Federal debt by 218 billion euros in the current year, an Argument for the financial viability of the basic pension. The cost of a short time before the applied stimulus-, crisis management and the future package of the Federal government, exactly 100 times as high of the basic pension for a year, suggests also that the huge sums for the economy provided by the Large coalition, while the poor only crumbs fall off.

What is the respect pension

this was compared to the adopted pension law with the original concept of Hubertus Heil, thus, entitled to the number of the claim, the benefit of the basic pension, also more than halved as the project's estimated financial resources. What came out in the end, it can only be a drop on the hot stone. In order to combat old-age poverty will not be effective, and that the coalition politicians know.

After all, the state recognizes the basic pension law, that work does not have to pay for those retirees inside and retirees, the salary for a poverty-proof pension, even after 35 years of contribution payment, the education of children and/or the care of relatives is not sufficient. 1.3 million micro-pensioners and pensioners from 1. January 2021 to benefit from it, resulting in an average grant of less than 85 euros per month. A sliding zone, which starts at 33 years of contribution payment, children's education and/or care, is avoided, a rim 34 years and eleven months.

periods of unemployment and allocation of periods of incapacity for work pensioners remain, however, not taken into account. Free allowances the basic allowance and the housing allowance should, however, ensure that people receive the basic pension, living in cities with high Rents. Even if that is the case, you may be in, as a rule, more einkommensarm, if the risk-of-poverty threshold of the European Union (last 1.035 euros per month for a single person) is based on.

1.3 billion instead of 3.8 billion

salvation original Plan would have approximately claimed 3.8 billion euros per year; the coalition partners of the SPD have stood by him just EUR 1.3 billion. Instead of a means test, which was required by the economic wing of the CDU and CSU, is a "comprehensive Income" on the Basis of tax data. Thus, a most humiliating experienced the disclosure of the whole circumstances of life remains Affected, although spared, as you need to social welfare recipients endure. If the free exceeded the amounts of € 1,250 for a single person and up to 1,950 Euro for (married)couples, are credited to the income to 60 percent to the basic pension. Of the basic pension excluded the mainly affected women, if your income is above 1,600 euros and a couple of more than 2,300 euros.

If the state asks, what is the man a small pensioner deserves, is an outdated model of the family and Familia in the social state concept based on. Because the basic pension is supposed to be for charity, but the reward for a live performance in decades of work, the education of children and/or the care of loved ones. Parties like the CDU, CSU and FDP, the want to otherwise advocate for a "lean state" and bureaucracy, is suddenly unable to build enough bureaucratic hurdles when it comes to the creation of more social justice. In the case of the mothers ' pension, which has the CSU, at the time, pushed through, which occurs, significantly, there is no income testing, even though it costs the state about seven Times as much.

Prof. Dr. Christoph Butterwegge taught until 2016 political science at the University of Cologne and, most recently, the book "The torn Republic. Economic, social and political inequality in Germany“ published.

CSU woman's decomposed AfD-request - then pulls out suddenly, a handkerchief, FOCUS Online/Wochit CSU-woman decomposed AfD-request - then pulls out suddenly, a handkerchief

Date Of Update: 04 July 2020, 06:27