More than three quarters of people in Germany do not believe the state pension will be sufficient to maintain their current standard of living in old age, according to a poll published by the Sunday edition of the Bild newspaper.
The Civey poll, commissioned by the Social Association of Germany, showed that 82% of respondents expressed doubts about being able to maintain their living standard on a government pension alone, while 11% believe their future pension will be enough.
The poll was conducted between March 24 and April 8, before German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the state pension scheme would at best only provide a basic level of cover in old age. That reignited a debate about the future of government pensions.
More than half of respondents (54%) said they did not have enough money of their own to provide for their old age, while 30% said their funds were sufficient.
The debate in Germany about its state pension system repeatedly brings up the question as to whether civil servants should start to pay into the system. The poll showed 87% either clearly or somewhat agree with this.
The Civey polling institute surveyed 2,500 people in Germany aged 18 and above. Pensioners, civil servants and the self-employed were excluded.
Merz provoked outrage a week ago when he said the current state pension system alone “will at best still be the basic level of cover for old age,” but would no longer be sufficient to maintain living standards.
On Saturday, however, he told a conference of the Christian Democratic Employees’ Association (CDA) in Marburg that, for him, statutory old-age provision would remain the basis of the pension system, which he did not want to restrict.
Merz heads the conservative Christian Democratic Union party.