Germany: One In Five Older Women Faces Poverty

According to the Federal Statistical Office, one in five older women faces poverty in Germany. The ‘gender pension gap’ was used as well.

Caring for family members on an unpaid basis frequently results in older women being financially worse off than older men. In 2023, the average pension income for women aged 65 and up in Germany was 27% lower than that of men.

Germany’s “gender pension gap,” or the difference in retirement income between men and women, is 27.1%, according to the Federal Statistical Office on Wednesday.

Last year, approximately one-fifth of all women aged 65 and older (20.8%) were at risk of poverty. The risk level for men of the same age was 15.9%. This income includes a wide range of pensions, from old age and survivors’ benefits to individual private provisions.

A person is considered at risk of poverty if their income is less than 60% of the overall population’s median income, taking into account household size and composition.

Because of their lower income, women are significantly more likely than men to face poverty in old age. In 2023, women over 65 in Germany earned an average of €18,663 per year, while men of the same age earned €25,599; both figures are for income before any deductions.

Part-time work, lower-paying jobs, and more frequent leaves, such as caring for children and elderly relatives, all contribute to women’s lower earnings during their careers, resulting in lower pensions.

Excluding interdependent pensions, which are typically paid when a spouse dies, the gender pension gap could widen to 39.4%, with 29% of surveyed women receiving payments from their deceased partners’ pensions, according to the Federal Statistical Office.

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