Overview

• Official figures from the labor ministry report that 42% of roughly 19 million old‑age pensioners received less than €1,000 a month as of December 31, 2024, though household incomes and other earnings can offset low pensions.
• Federal pension subsidies have risen in euros but fallen relative to economic output, dropping from 3.37% of GDP in 2004 to 2.66% in 2024, prompting BSW leader Sahra Wagenknecht to call for about €30 billion more state funding.
• A government draft estimates €11.2 billion will be needed by 2031 to maintain the pension level, sharpening the policy tussle over how to finance guarantees and supplements.
• Analyses highlight cohort effects from years with particularly low Rentenniveau, with birth years 1948, 1949, 1950 and 1952 statistically facing worse starting conditions despite nominal pension increases.
• From December 1, 2025, the 2024 disability pension surcharge is folded into the regular pension under §307i SGB VI, triggering potential cuts to widows’ and widowers’ pensions through income counting and enabling back payments covering up to 17 months where the recalculation yields a higher amount.