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It is to be expected that seniors in this country prefer to watch public television. Two-thirds would prefer to be in their own Apartment grow old, also understandable. After all, by implication, this means that your health is at least not too bad. Two out of three seniors don’t think much of gender, which isn’t really surprising. And Helmut Schmidt is the best Chancellor ever.

But there is one topic that generates much more emotion: respect for old age. Both politics and the younger people in society get their fat off here. Almost 80 percent of older people accuse politicians of not taking enough account of the needs of older people. 74 percent complain about a lack of respect. And every second person believes that politicians are focusing on the wrong issues.

The financial situation of German pensioners

Let’s get to the financial situation. The 21.3 million pensioners receive an average of EUR 1,620.90 (east) or EUR 1,598.40 (west) gross per month. The former civil servants are even better off: The 1.4 million pensioners receive an average pension of 3170 euros. There is also a lot on the high side: According to the Bundesbank, 65 to 74 year olds have an average of 313,200 euros (household). However, the value of your own property is included, which puts the numbers into perspective. Because there are enough people of retirement age who have little available funds but have a house that has been paid for. Therefore, offers such as a partial sale of the property are booming in order to increase liquid funds in old age.

However, the Bild-am-Sonntag survey shows that many are not satisfied with their financial situation. 38 percent are of the opinion that their money is not enough for a good life. Among the 65 to 74 year olds it is even 43 percent. Now you can argue about what “good life” means and anyone who gets more than 3100 euros as a pensioner should be satisfied. But they are mean values ​​- and if 36 percent of pensioners have to make do with a household income of less than 2000 euros, that is not a lot. Here, too, the gap between rich and poor is widening.

Digitization – difficult for seniors

What is a matter of course for digital natives is a problem for older people: Our country is becoming more and more digital. Visiting the bank counter is becoming less frequent, after all, the banks are thinning out their branch network more and more. E-mail instead of a handwritten letter, comparison portals instead of travel agencies – if you don’t have a smartphone or internet access, you feel left out. According to Bild am Sonntag, that is now one in five. The reason: 37 percent of pensioners do not have a smartphone, and among those over 75 it is even 55 percent. And 72 percent are without Internet access.

Life as a pensioner in Germany

This number is surprising: Four out of ten pensioners say that you can’t grow old well in Germany. 23 percent feel lonely sometimes, six percent often feel lonely. One thing is clear: inflation has also had a severe impact on pensioners. In addition, the catch-up factor, which was actually suspended until 2025, was reactivated. To put it simply: the catch-up factor stipulates that pensions will not rise if wage increases offset earlier wage falls. As a result, pensions will rise more slowly than if the catch-up factor were to remain suspended. In return, the double stop line should not be touched. This consists of an upper limit for the contribution rate (20 percent by 2025) and a lower limit for the so-called pension level in percent (at least 48 percent by 2025).

However, it is unclear whether the financial situation is responsible for the poor survey result or the emotional component with the lack of respect. Therefore we ask for your opinion.