Elderly women disproportionately impacted by financial insecurity in old age, with 2.1 million affected. - Elderly women face a high risk of falling into poverty
Rising Old-Age Poverty Affecting Millions of Women
A disturbing trend has emerged over the past decade, with the number of pensioners suffering from poverty increasing significantly. According to recent statistics, the number of individuals impacted by old-age poverty rose from approximately 2 million in 2005 to over 3.4 million in the recent year.
The chairwoman of the Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht, Wagenknecht, has stated that the current pension system in Germany is unfriendly towards women. She believes that a pension model based on the Austrian model would be more suitable, promising a minimum pension of 1,500 euros after 40 years of insurance.
In Austria, a vast majority of employed individuals contribute to the statutory pension fund, resulting in higher average pensions compared to those in Germany. The proposition of adopting the Austrian pension model is an essential element of the Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht's policy platform, focusing on fighting poverty and bridging the wealth gap, particularly among women.
The issue of finding a sustainable pension policy is a top priority for the new federal government. The black-red coalition has had differing opinions on the matter recently, with Labour Minister Barbara Bas (SPD) suggesting self-employed and civil servants should contribute to the statutory pension insurance. However, representatives from the Union have rejected this proposal.
The BSW emphasizes its left-leaning stance, promoting more social justice, fair wages, and decent pensions in contrast to other left parties. Although the BSW's specific solutions for pension policy are not yet detailed, the push for state intervention to secure fair wages and robust public pension systems is apparent.
Compared to the proposed model for the Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht, the Austrian pension system is a comprehensive multi-pillar model, consisting of a public pay-as-you-go system, occupational pensions, and private pension savings. Austria historically offers relatively high state pensions, especially for women, with mechanisms in place to compensate for reduced earnings due to caregiving obligations. Recent reforms aim to ensure the system's long-term sustainability while still supporting gender equity.
- The Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht's policy platform, focusing on fighting poverty and bridging the wealth gap, particularly among women, includes the proposition of adopting an Austrian model for vocational training of pensions.
- In light of the rising old-age poverty affecting millions of women, the science of pensions and vocational training in policy-and-legislation, specifically concerning womens-health and aging, has gained increased attention.
- Emphasizing on more social justice, fair wages, and decent pensions, the BSW promotes state intervention in health-and-wellness matters, including the general-news surrounding the sustainability of the pension policy, particularly in the context of vocational training.
- Politics play a significant role in shaping vocational training policies for pension systems, as demonstrated in the differing opinions of the black-red coalition regarding contributions from self-employed and civil servants to the statutory pension insurance.
