Press release No. N 062 of 30 September 2020
- At-risk-of-poverty rate increased by 4.7 percentage points since 2005 to 15.7% in 2019
- Lately, risk of poverty of 65-plus generation has been lower in eastern Länder than in western Länder (rates in 2019: 13.8% and 16.2%, respectively)
- Proportion of people at retirement age receiving basic security benefits up from 1.7% at the end of 2003 to 3.2% in December 2019; lower rate in eastern Germany
- Population ageing particularly strong in eastern Länder since 1990: proportion of 65-plus generation up from 13.8% to 26.0% in 2019
WIESBADEN – The 65-plus generation in Germany faces an increasing risk of poverty. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports that the proportion of those aged over 64 who are at risk of poverty, measured by the federal median, has increased by 4.7 percentage points over the last 15 years, reaching 15.7% in 2019. The increase since 2005 was higher than in any other age group. In the same period, the total at-risk-of-poverty rate rose 1.2 percentage points to 15.9%. This means that the at-risk-of-poverty rate, which is an indicator measuring relative income poverty, was roughly the same for people aged over 64 and for the total population in 2019.
More information on regional common features and differences between eastern and western Länder 30 years after German reunification is contained in our Statistik-Dossier and on our theme page on “30 Jahre Deutsche Einheit”.
