P Like Puke, P Like Pensions

Yours truly is the only one (out of 5) in this family still on her feet. Enough about puking, though. Rotating from caring for people on the bed and sofa, I got a surprising amount of reading done today. The top story in today's (German) paper was on the employment minister's ideas on how current workers need to save for their pensions, in order for these to be above the social security minimum. Yes, crazily enough - according to the minister's numbers - 35 years of earnings below EUR 2500 will result in a pension payment less than if one would just go on social security benefits. Whether or not one trusts her numbers (many do not), her idea that a top-up contribution to pension funds for 35 years should ensure at least the minimum benefit is highly controversial. The main critics argue that this would not make financial sense for either the contributer nor the state (which would have to pay most of the bill), but would also burden mainly the younger generation. I think that my own generation (30+) has given up on pension plans in the traditional sense. Who really beliebes that our payments make sense for our own pension rewards? Very few people I know, including myself. It's important to have a Plan B, be it property or some other investment. The lavish pensions our own parents receive are something we will look back at with some envy.