Society: Only one in five pensioners does not have to restrict themselves

The vast majority of retirees in Germany have to make significant sacrifices in old age. This is the result of a representative survey conducted by the opinion research institute YouGov on behalf of the insurer HDI.

81 percent of respondents aged between 63 and 70 said they could afford less than they had previously thought. Almost one in two (55 percent) even reported that they had to make significantly greater sacrifices than they had previously expected. Only just under one in five said they would be able to live their life as a pensioner as planned without any compromises.

Women are more affected than men

Women have to make greater sacrifices than men. 44 percent of the female pensioners surveyed reported that they could not maintain their usual standard of living even with major sacrifices. Only 34 percent of men said the same.

“Even though we expected that there would be some retirees who would have little financial leeway, we are astonished at how many of those affected are actually unable to maintain their standard of living,” said HDI Germany boss Jens Warkentin.

Half of those surveyed said they had expected a higher pension before they retired. In particular, many underestimated the amount of taxes and social security contributions due. 55 percent of those surveyed said they had not correctly estimated these deductions in advance.

Savings are mainly made on cars and holidays

51 percent of those surveyed said they could no longer afford a car in the same price range as before. 52 percent have completely given up long-distance travel, a good third have also given up travel within Europe, and 16 percent have even given up day trips. 57 percent of those surveyed have gone to restaurants less often or not at all since they retired. For the survey, the YouGov Institute questioned 1,053 pensioners between the ages of 63 and 70 in February.