More than three decades after German reunification, a significant financial divide continues to separate pensioners in the eastern and western parts of the country. According to data obtained by the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) party from the Federal Statistics Office (Statistisches Bundesamt), retirees in eastern Germany had more than €300 per month less in disposable income than their counterparts in the west.
The figures, which were shared with the French news agency AFP on Sunday, show that the so-called net equivalised income available to seniors aged 65 and above stood at €25,873 per year in eastern Germany in 2025, compared to €29,577 in western Germany. This metric accounts for the total household income and adjusts for the number and age of individuals living in the household, making it possible to compare the actual living standards of people across different household compositions.
The annual gap of €3,704 translates to a monthly difference of €309, an increase from the €281 recorded in 2024. Rather than narrowing over time, the pension divide between eastern and western Germany appears to be moving in the opposite direction, raising fresh concerns about income equality among the country's ageing population.
BSW founder Sahra Wagenknecht told AFP that Germany remains "miles away" from achieving pension parity, even 36 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. She cautioned that any reduction in the pension level as part of the ongoing pension reform process would amount to a direct blow against eastern German retirees, who in most cases depend solely on the statutory pension for their retirement income.
Unlike many pensioners in western Germany, who often supplement their statutory pension with occupational or private pension schemes, a large share of eastern German retirees have no such additional income sources. This makes them particularly vulnerable to any changes that would lower the general pension level.
Wagenknecht announced that the BSW would call for public pension protests if plans to reduce the pension level move forward, signalling that the party intends to make this a major political issue in the months ahead.
The debate over pension levels comes at a time when Germany's government-appointed pension commission is preparing sweeping reform proposals of its own. According to reports, the 13-member panel is expected to recommend a gradual increase in the retirement age from 67 to 70 by the early 2060s, alongside a reduction in the pension level from 48 to 46 percent.
The commission is scheduled to present its full recommendations on 30 June. CDU labour wing chair Dennis Radtke has already called a blanket retirement age increase "the wrong step," pointing out that many workers in physically demanding jobs cannot sustain employment until the current threshold.
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