German Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen has warned that millions of workers face a bigger risk of ending up with inadequate pensions than previously thought.
A German woman has been granted a widow’s pension despite being married for less than three weeks, a Berlin court said on Thursday. Normally a marriage must last a year for either party to claim a widow's, or widower's, pension.
A court denied a woman a widow's pension Wednesday because her husband died of cancer after only 17 days of marriage. The court said it could only make exceptions in the case of accidents.
New statistics published Wednesday revealed that half of Germans retiring in 2010 had to take their pensions early, raising concerns of increasing old age poverty.
Germany moved Monday to reassure Belgium that people who suffered forced labour at the hands of the Nazis would not have to pay tax on their compensation, after a row between Berlin and Brussels.
Germans face a growing risk of living out their old age in poverty as low-earners fail to set aside enough for their retirement, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has warned.
An increasing number of German pensioners are being forced to work low-paid mini-jobs or apply for special supplemental aid from the government in order to make ends meet, statistics show.
Workers in Germany are retiring later, new figures reveal, providing welcome news amid fears that Europe’s largest economy will suffer in years to come because of its ageing population.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has attacked southern European countries such as Greece, where people retire early and take lots of holidays, saying they can no longer enjoy such lifestyles at the cost of other EU members like Germany.
Most Germans fear gravely for the future of their cherished welfare state, believing they will pay more taxes yet receive fewer benefits in the coming decade, a major survey has found.
Germany's ruling parties – the Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister, the Christian Social Union – need to get back to their conservative roots to counter terrible polls, the CSU chairman said Saturday.
Finance Minister Peer SteinbrĂĽck has questioned a new law that guarantees pensions will not be reduced even if wage levels go down, saying pensioners today are doing better than ever before, and the younger generation needs help more.
Nearly three quarters of Germans think old-age poverty is likely to be one of the country’s biggest problems in the next few years, displaying a loss of faith in the once legendary social security system.
Former German president Roman Herzog has warned Germany could become a “pensioner’s democracy” following the government’s surprise increase in pension benefits.
