After 48 years of work without experiencing unemployment, Dagmar, a 69-year-old retiree who lives in Freising, Germany, discovered that retirement does not bring her the peace of mind it promised: with a pension of 2,200 euros, she says she cannot reach the end of the month without returning to the job market and cutting down on almost all expenses.
In the interview with the German portal Focus.de, Dagmar describes a routine made up of cents. “My life is very far from being calm and relaxed”, he says, explaining that, despite being officially retired for four years, the financial security that the pension should provide continues to elude him. Every price increase in the city where you live becomes a new problem to add to the list.
The numbers help you understand why. House rental and electricity alone consume 845 euros per month. The car, which he considers essential to maintain some autonomy, costs another 600 euros. Added to this are 140 euros in insurance and around 590 euros in food and household items. When everything is added up, the pension seems to shrink, and the budget is stretched to the limit.
Faced with this reality, Dagmar decided to return to work, now as a temporary employee in a property management company. The so-called mini-job earns, on average, 475 euros per month, money that ends up being the room for maneuver that the pension alone no longer offers. “Thanks to this part-time job, I still have around 500 euros left for leisure and savings”, he calculates.
In practice, this means that any unusual expense has to be thought twice. Holidays, for example, only in a very reduced version. “Five days maximum, and it’s already a luxury”, he admits. Without the extra income, the scenario would be even more difficult: “Without part-time work, at 69 I would have nothing left to live on”, he states, bluntly.
Accepting this need to continue working, after almost half a century of discounts, is what costs him the most. “It’s really horrible. I worked 48 years and now I have to keep working”, he laments. For the retired woman, the equation between effort, contributions and pension is clearly unbalanced: “I think there is a serious imbalance”, she summarizes.
The mirror of a bigger problem in German reforms
According to , Dagmar’s case is not just an individual story: it fits into a trend that worries German union structures. The German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB) has been warning about the increased risk of poverty among retired people, especially women, who often had careers marked by lower wages or periods of part-time work.
According to data cited by the organization, more than 70% of women and around 40% of men who retire in 2023 in Germany receive less than 1,200 euros per month, amounts that, in many cities, are clearly below what is necessary to support high incomes, energy, food and transport. Hence the call for structural reforms: “Everyone should be forced to pay into the pension fund”, argues the DGB, to broaden the contribution base and strengthen the system.
At the same time, the debate over the cost of living and the aging population continues to gain weight in German politics. Social organizations and unions warn that the combination of high incomes, expensive energy and persistent inflation is pushing more and more retirees into additional work, when many no longer have the health or energy to do so.
Work more years so as not to lose the life that makes you happy
Despite the difficulties, Dagmar refuses to give up what gives her courage. Theater, cultural activities and some small pleasures continue to be part of their routine, even if with more restraint. “I plan to continue my work for at least another two years”, he says, in a kind of compromise between financial need and the desire to preserve his lifestyle.
The goal is not to lose sight of what you consider essential to feeling good. “I don’t want to stop going to the theater or enjoying my hobbies, even if my economic situation remains complicated,” he says. Between bills, receipts and tight budgets, Dagmar clings to this fragile balance: continuing to work so that retirement doesn’t mean giving up the life she still wants to live.
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