The number of people receiving basic income support (Grundsicherung) in Germany for old age and reduced earning capacity climbed by 1.8 percent in 2025. In December 2025, approximately 1.28 million people were drawing these benefits, according to figures released by Germany's Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Thursday.
The state support is available to individuals who are permanently and fully unable to work due to disability, or who have reached the statutory retirement age and cannot cover their living expenses from their own income.
For those born before 1947, the qualifying retirement age stands at 65. For individuals born in 1947 or later, the threshold is being gradually raised to 67. In December 2025, the applicable retirement age was 66 years and two months. Around 764,000 people had reached this threshold and were receiving old-age welfare support during that month. Between the end of 2024 and the end of 2025, the number of old-age welfare recipients grew by 3.4 percent, reaching a new record high, the statisticians noted.
In contrast, the number of people receiving basic income support due to reduced earning capacity fell by 0.5 percent, dropping to approximately 520,000. This is the lowest figure recorded since December 2018.
Within a year, the number of eligible Ukrainian refugees in this category increased by 9.9 percent to around 109,000. While this rise had a significant share in the overall development, the pace of growth was once again slower than in previous years.
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