According to new statistics, around 1,3 million people in Germany who have reached the standard retirement age were still employed in 2019.

Living to work

The number of pensioners who are still working continues to rise in Germany. At the request of the AfD, the Federal Employment Agency has revealed that around 1,29 million people who had reached the standard retirement age were still gainfully employed in 2019. This amounts to around 400.000 more people compared to 2010, a 45 percent increase. In the same time period, the number of old-age pensioners in Germany has increased by 3,9 percent to around 17,1 million.

According to AfD politician René Springer, out of the 1,29 million employed pensioners, 1,02 million (79,2 percent) were only marginally employed last year, while one in five (268.000) were employed subject to social security contributions. The number of pensioners working and paying social security contributions has risen from 11,9 percent in 2005 to 20,8 percent in 2019.

Women more likely to work after retirement

Springer pointed out that the number of women and people from eastern Germany working after the retirement age has particularly increased. The number of women continuing to work after the retirement age has increased by 42,4 percent in the last ten years. Similarly, the number of employed pensioners from eastern Germany has increased by 61,5 percent. By contrast, the number of employed pensioners in western Germany has increased by 42,3 percent.

The federal government has responded by stating that pensioners continuing paid work is not necessarily an indication of old-age poverty. It stated, in reference to a study by the Federal Institute for Population Research, that people continue to work for numerous reasons: fun at work, social contact and to feel needed.