Social issues: GDR pensions and Jewish immigrants: application to a hardship fund

Those in need with open pension entitlements from GDR times can now apply for help of at least 2,500 euros from a planned hardship fund.

Social issues: GDR pensions and Jewish immigrants: application to a hardship fund

Those in need with open pension entitlements from GDR times can now apply for help of at least 2,500 euros from a planned hardship fund. This was confirmed by the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs in Berlin. The fund is also intended for late resettlers and Jewish immigrants on the poverty line.

The Left and the Central Council of Jews consider the payments to be too low. The Greens politician Paula Piechotta appealed to the federal states to participate and thus increase the sums.

The federal government has planned 500 million euros for the hardship fund. On the one hand, it is about East Germans with certain pension entitlements from the GDR era, which were not included in the federal German system in 1991. What is meant are supplementary pensions, for example for former employees of the Reichsbahn or post office, as well as claims from women who were divorced in GDR times. According to the left, this affects up to 500,000 East Germans from 17 professional groups.

On the other hand, the fund is aimed at late resettlers and so-called Jewish quota refugees who Germany took in from the former Soviet Union. The prerequisite for the one-off payment is neediness, i.e. pensions close to basic security. The federal government expects 180,000 to 190,000 people with legitimate claims, including 50,000 to 70,000 East German pensioners.

Left outraged: "Around 90 percent of those affected go away empty-handed"

The left wants to apply for a more comprehensive solution in the Bundestag on Friday: more money and a larger group of recipients. "The last word must not be said on the hardship fund," said parliamentary group leader Dietmar Bartsch. In its application, the left-wing faction complained that with the current solution "around 90 percent of those affected, who have been fighting for the recognition of their pension entitlements for more than 30 years, would get nothing."

The reason for this is that the criteria - namely need - are too hard, said the Left East Commissioner Sören Pellmann. "The fact that the federal government is now only providing a measly 500 million euros for three large groups is a sign of poverty. We are demanding a justice fund and compensation for all those affected." The Left advocates a one-time payment in the five-digit range.

Central Council complained: No solution with all countries

From the point of view of the Central Council of Jews, the sum should be at least 10,000 euros. He had mixed feelings at the start of the application phase, said Central Council President Josef Schuster. "On the one hand, a long-standing hic-hack between the federal and state governments is finally coming to an end." On the other hand, it is unsatisfactory that no agreement has been reached with all countries.

According to plans by the federal government, the hardship fund is to be managed by a foundation. The federal states have the opportunity to contribute financially until March 31st. If this happens, the payment for beneficiaries in these countries increases from 2500 to 5000 euros. So far, however, only Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has publicly committed to contributing money.

Green MP Piechotta, spokeswoman for the East regional group in the Bundestag faction, appealed to the Left Party: "Instead of simply demanding more money, as always, without saying how that can be achieved, the Left Party could actually do something for GDR Move pensioners: by ensuring that the state government she leads in Thuringia and also Bremen and Berlin, as states with left-wing government responsibility, participate in the hardship fund. The countries are about to shirk their responsibility, said Piechotta.

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