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BERLIN, Germany / Spiegel International / July 10, 2009
THRIVING IN THE RECESSION
Germany's Increasingly Powerful Seniors
By SPIEGEL Staff
Things are changing for Germany's aged. On one hand, their influence is growing and, controversially, they got the biggest pension increase in more than a decade last week. On the other hand academics are calling for a rethink on retirement, arguing that the old must work longer and harder.
This summer's biggest winner is not the sweet, young, bikini-clad thing frolicking on the beach. No, this summer's biggest winner is an elegant, older woman with white hair and glasses who laughs long and often. Because for Ulrike Mascher, 70, the past few months have gone extremely well. Since last October, Mascher, a former member of parliament for the Social Democratic Party (SPD), has been the head of the Sozialverband VdK, Germany's largest pensioner lobby group. Her influence has grown tremendously since she assumed the position. "Even our press releases get more attention now," she says.
'Life after 65 is about so much more than adult diapers': Former model Christa Höhs started her own agency, specializing in older models. The charming men and women her agency represents now appear in ads for everything from skin creams to tourism to garden furniture. Quirin Leppert
In one such press release, issued on April 27, Mascher called for a "protective umbrella for retirees." Within hours of the release, Labor Minister Olaf Scholz had held a hurried press conference in which he promised not to cut pensions, "not next year and not in the years after that."
In uttering these words, Scholz suspended a mechanism that is almost as old as the Federal Republic of Germany. Until now, pensions have been linked to wages, and because wages threaten to decline, now that many Germans are working reduced hours, pensions would normally also be headed downward.
German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück railed against that promise this week, saying "I have great doubts whether this is the right signal to send to the next generations. Those really affected (by the economic crisis) are the 25 to 35 year olds who may want to have children soon," Steinbrück said. "We should be worrying more about this generation." Steinbrück also noted that while other Germans had to worry about hanging onto their jobs, pensioners have never had it better.
It's true. Last week German retirees got the biggest boost in their pensions in more than a decade. From July 1, retirees in the West received a 2.4 percent increase, while those in the states of the former East Germany were getting a 3.4 percent hike in pension benefits. "It's certainly a start," says a cheerful Mascher.
It's more than that though, it is an historic victory. And retirees haven't even had to do very much to get their pension increase. There were no major demonstrations, no rallies. All it took was a few words and politicians snapped to attention.
The old folks have never been this powerful. Twenty million German men and women are older than 60 and they make up one third of all voters. And their influence will only grow especially when the baby boomers -- those born in the 1950s and 60s -- start retiring, around 2015.
Warning: Catastrophic Consequences of Aging Population
An older patient gets a medical check up. Some doctors believe that in old age, maintaining mental dexterity can be a question of fitness. DPA
Demographers and economists have been warning of the consequences of this for years. They wonder how an aging society can survive in an internationally competitive economy and predict all kinds of catastrophe. Fritz Beske, an economist in the northern German city of Kiel, has calculated that the costs of the German healthcare system will rise dramatically within the next 40 years, despite expected advances in medicine. According to Beske, the compulsory health insurance contribution could rise above 40 percent.
But there are also surprisingly optimistic messages from other quarters. Human beings, say some researchers, are intellectually and physically capable of working much longer than society currently expects them to. It stands to reason that, if older people remain productive longer, then they will also be paying into the pension and health insurance system for longer. So the social welfare system, and its funding, is not as endangered as one might think.
Leading this new movement are well-known academics such as Heidelberg-based gerontologist Andreas Kruse, who heads the German government's gerontology commission, and Axel Börsch-Supan, an economist in the southwestern German city of Mannheim. Their conclusions are becoming more and more interesting to a wide range of industries, including German automakers, lawyers, architects and advertising professionals.
Almost every week, there's a meeting held in Germany to address questions arising in an era in which older members of society are no longer treated as second class citizens, simply drawing benefits from the sidelines. Questions like: How can companies become more inclusive of their older workers? What products do older people want to buy?
Businesses Look Into The Future -- and It's Elderly
A worker at BMW's Dingolfing plant takes time out from making cars to do a bit of exercise. BMW also provides older workers with a padded floor --because it is easier on the joints and spine, areas where most of the men here are already having problems after many years of strenuous physical work. Photo: Quirin Leppert
One gets a glimpse of this future in Hall 43 at auto manufacturer, BMW's Dingolfing assembly plant, about an hour's drive out of Munich. Erich Bloch, 48, is stretching in front of a set of wall bars. He does the exercises once a day; they were recommended by his physical therapist. But he also does them because they make him feel better and add a little color to his working life. "The diversion is good for your mental health," he said. [
rc]
Click here to read more of this SPIEGEL INTERNATIONAL feature
PART 1. Germany's Increasingly Powerful Seniors
Part 2:
The Next Generation Must Work Until They Are 70
© SPIEGEL ONLINE 2009
'Life after 65 is about so much more than adult diapers': Former model Christa Höhs started her own agency, specializing in older models. The charming men and women her agency represents now appear in ads for everything from skin creams to tourism to garden furniture. Quirin Leppert
In one such press release, issued on April 27, Mascher called for a "protective umbrella for retirees." Within hours of the release, Labor Minister Olaf Scholz had held a hurried press conference in which he promised not to cut pensions, "not next year and not in the years after that."
In uttering these words, Scholz suspended a mechanism that is almost as old as the Federal Republic of Germany. Until now, pensions have been linked to wages, and because wages threaten to decline, now that many Germans are working reduced hours, pensions would normally also be headed downward.
German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück railed against that promise this week, saying "I have great doubts whether this is the right signal to send to the next generations. Those really affected (by the economic crisis) are the 25 to 35 year olds who may want to have children soon," Steinbrück said. "We should be worrying more about this generation." Steinbrück also noted that while other Germans had to worry about hanging onto their jobs, pensioners have never had it better.
It's true. Last week German retirees got the biggest boost in their pensions in more than a decade. From July 1, retirees in the West received a 2.4 percent increase, while those in the states of the former East Germany were getting a 3.4 percent hike in pension benefits. "It's certainly a start," says a cheerful Mascher.
It's more than that though, it is an historic victory. And retirees haven't even had to do very much to get their pension increase. There were no major demonstrations, no rallies. All it took was a few words and politicians snapped to attention.
The old folks have never been this powerful. Twenty million German men and women are older than 60 and they make up one third of all voters. And their influence will only grow especially when the baby boomers -- those born in the 1950s and 60s -- start retiring, around 2015.
Warning: Catastrophic Consequences of Aging Population
An older patient gets a medical check up. Some doctors believe that in old age, maintaining mental dexterity can be a question of fitness. DPA
Demographers and economists have been warning of the consequences of this for years. They wonder how an aging society can survive in an internationally competitive economy and predict all kinds of catastrophe. Fritz Beske, an economist in the northern German city of Kiel, has calculated that the costs of the German healthcare system will rise dramatically within the next 40 years, despite expected advances in medicine. According to Beske, the compulsory health insurance contribution could rise above 40 percent.
But there are also surprisingly optimistic messages from other quarters. Human beings, say some researchers, are intellectually and physically capable of working much longer than society currently expects them to. It stands to reason that, if older people remain productive longer, then they will also be paying into the pension and health insurance system for longer. So the social welfare system, and its funding, is not as endangered as one might think.
Leading this new movement are well-known academics such as Heidelberg-based gerontologist Andreas Kruse, who heads the German government's gerontology commission, and Axel Börsch-Supan, an economist in the southwestern German city of Mannheim. Their conclusions are becoming more and more interesting to a wide range of industries, including German automakers, lawyers, architects and advertising professionals.
Almost every week, there's a meeting held in Germany to address questions arising in an era in which older members of society are no longer treated as second class citizens, simply drawing benefits from the sidelines. Questions like: How can companies become more inclusive of their older workers? What products do older people want to buy?
Businesses Look Into The Future -- and It's Elderly
A worker at BMW's Dingolfing plant takes time out from making cars to do a bit of exercise. BMW also provides older workers with a padded floor --because it is easier on the joints and spine, areas where most of the men here are already having problems after many years of strenuous physical work. Photo: Quirin Leppert
One gets a glimpse of this future in Hall 43 at auto manufacturer, BMW's Dingolfing assembly plant, about an hour's drive out of Munich. Erich Bloch, 48, is stretching in front of a set of wall bars. He does the exercises once a day; they were recommended by his physical therapist. But he also does them because they make him feel better and add a little color to his working life. "The diversion is good for your mental health," he said. [rc]
Click here to read more of this SPIEGEL INTERNATIONAL feature
PART 1. Germany's Increasingly Powerful Seniors
Part 2: The Next Generation Must Work Until They Are 70
© SPIEGEL ONLINE 2009
