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For years, various experts have been calling for Germans to work longer in order to save the pension system. People up to the age of 68 or 70 work best. But these suggestions are misleading. There are better ideas for reforming pensions. A look abroad is enough.
Have you ever heard these sentences: “The state pension system is in danger of falling apart.” And: “Germans are raising fewer and fewer children, and the population will decrease significantly over the next few decades.” And: “The number of people in employment will decrease drastically.” Finally: “The employees will pay ever higher contributions without end.”
Correct. That’s the sound of the apocalypse. Runs in an endless loop. The pension is ailing, the system can no longer be saved, a complete renovation is necessary. And yet these sentences are special. They have patina. They come from a 1985 edition of “Spiegel”.
1985 – felt like a year from the Stone Age
What a year, this 1985. Boris Becker conquered Wimbledon for the first time, Germany got the first green state minister, namely Joschka Fischer, a gentleman named Bill Gates was waiting with the Windows software, and Queen singer Freddy Mercury breathed in with a performance biggest benefit concert of all time, Live Aid gave his band new life. What Hollywood later filmed. 1985 feels like a stone age in 2021.
36 years have passed since then. 36 years in which the sound of the apocalypse did not stop, but the disaster simply did not show itself. The pensioners get their money punctually every month, the pension contribution has not skyrocketed, it was last at 18.6 percent, in 1985 it was 19.2 percent (plus 5.5 million), and not fewer, but more employees (over seven million in West Germany alone), and by the way, the pension insurance has managed German unity.
Germany is graying
Funny. Where Germany has been graying since 1985. We have more old people, but we have no disaster. Nowhere. Why did he fail? The politicians have partially reformed the system, which, shall we say, has achieved mediocre results. Above all, however, the local economy grew, new jobs were created, wages rose, and this poured money into the pension fund.
Why am I telling you all this?
Because of the traveling preachers who are on the way. They disguise themselves as professors, association representatives or experts and see doom approaching. The pension eats up far too much money, which is why we all have to work longer, maybe until 68 or even 70. In general, the pension has to be more oriented towards the financial markets, and then they talk about “funded” or “share pensions”.
But who can work longer? The cleaning lady who is supposed to scrub the floors at the age of 68? Or the nurse who, at the age of 70, would have to drag the 75-year-old out of bed? Are these gentlemen serious?
Older people are considered expensive and inflexible
Well, not everyone has to toil. But if you are looking for a new job at the age of 55, you will find that it will be difficult. Many employers often consider such an applicant to be inflexible, expensive and not very resilient – which is not true. The Bayer Group, for example, which employs 32,000 people in this country, hired 52 people over the age of 55 in 2018 – please be careful. Many older people can no longer work even if they wanted to. The entrepreneurs don’t play along. You want young people.
I also don’t believe that the stock market will save pensions. Various experts built this castle in the air earlier. With the Riester pension. At the time, some promised a return of four or more percent. The Riester pension is even superior to today’s models in one respect. The paid-in money, i.e. contributions and state aid, must be preserved. At least. Even that is not certain with new ideas. Such guarantees only prevent one from speculating, say these experts. The FDP even wants to sacrifice for it. Gambling for the future.
I have nothing against the stock market. I think everyone should get involved in the stock market. For example with a savings plan through which he buys shares in an index fund for 20, 30 euros or more every month. This can create a financial cushion for the individual, but we should not base our pension system on it.
A look abroad is necessary
Of course the system has to change. The world of work is changing, which does not leave pensions unaffected. But why not learn from abroad? For example from Austria. . And that didn’t hurt, there aren’t too many more unemployed. And because the Austrians did not indulge in the madness of the Riester pension,.
Or the Netherlands. no matter how much he deposited. . Well, such a radical cut might not work here. But why do low-wage earners have to expect support in old age? Anyone who has earned only 2000 euros gross per month for 45 years,. Retirement then means fighting poverty. Other countries are further along. They have reorganized their system so that low-wage earners receive higher pensions and higher-income earners receive slightly lower pensions. We prefer to stick to the principles of basic rent, Comment 1608.
I have one more piece of advice for you. If you hear an expert rant about retirement again, take a look at his job. Is there an official, politician or university professor talking? Then listen away. The man does not have to worry about his retirement, special rules apply to him. what the average retiree can only dream of. .
Otherwise, think of 1985. It was a pretty good year, by the way.
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
