On June, 20th, 2013, I will be sixty-three years old. I graduated from high-school in 1969. Eighteen months of my life have been donated to the country. Forcibly. It was called military service. After this compulsory service, I studied and earned the necessary money during that time myself. I always had (at least) two jobs synchronously. Regardless, those were good times. I have no reason to complain.
Then my “work life” began. After a few initial years, I paid the maximum amount into the old age insurance for almost twenty years. After the change of the InterFace Connection GmbH – which was then turned into an association – I mutated from being managing director to being board member. Nevertheless, I continued to pay the basic amount into the old age insurance out of solidarity.
I brought up seven children. Six of them have successfully graduated from high school, one of them hopefully will still do so. My children have all kinds of diplomas, so far, one of them is holding a doctorial title.
A few days ago, I received my notice of pension granted (of June, 10th, 2013):
So I would get 1,185.58 Euros old age money, starting November, 1st, 2015. You have to pay health insurance from it and it is also subject to taxation. I have no idea how much will then remain. Presumably, it is not going to be very much.
It is interesting that my wife, Barbara, who basically was always busy either having children or working, gets considerably less than I. Her old age money will be around two thirds of mine.
We are not complaining. We were rather lucky in life and even had the chance to accumulate a small fortune. It actually looks like, even in old age, I can afford a good life in the beautiful south—east of Munich.
But I think of other people, who have probably spent their entire life paying just a little over the minimum into the old age insurance. Maybe they have some gaps in their work life.
Which means they will definitely get less than I (and my wife) will get. And they were not able to build up any sort of helpful fortune: zero.
I also think of the inflation I feel every day. And of the federal debt which, regardless of all the promises and flops such as “debt brake”, keeps increasing (!). I think of the risky government securities and the many singles and what a home for the elderly costs each month. However, I equally think of the constantly increasing percentage of carbon dioxide in the air we breathe, although this has basically nothing to do with our old age money. But still, it has all the world to do with our future.
How is that supposed to work? Or else: please find what went wrong! Incidentally, I think there are many things that went wrong.
RMD
(Translated by EG)
P.S.
My father was a public servant at Deutsche Bundesbahn. He had never studied at university, but he was industrious and climbed up gradually. Yet his career was limited. My mother is a widow, but being the wife of a public servant, she still gets about twice (pension and a small old-age money) what I will get as old-age money. Regardless of this, her few savings keep dwindling each months, because the cost for the home for the elderly and “health” (private extra payments in an exorbitant health-care system that we cannot really influence) are a lot higher than her income.
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