2023-07-12 01:32:36
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The chairwoman of the Economic Wise Men, Monika Schnitzer, wants to abolish the widow’s pension – in its current form. Instead, she relies on pension splitting.
Bonn – The big baby boomer generation is reaching retirement age – this threatens the economy with a shortage of skilled workers and a huge burden on the pension system. The economist and chairwoman of the Economic Wise Men, Monika Schnitzer, is therefore committed to abolishing the so-called widow’s pension.
Instead of the current form, she proposes a different regulation: the so-called pension splitting. Compared to the Spiegel the chairwoman of the Economic Wise Men justifies her position as follows: “The current regulation reduces the incentives to take up one’s own employment.”
Pension Splitting vs. Widow’s Pension: What’s the Difference?
The widow’s pension was the subject of a panel discussion organized by the Institute for the Future of Work. Schnitzer points to a variant of the widow’s pension that has been applicable since 2002: pension splitting.
The “economy” Monika Schnitzer calls for a change in the widow’s pension. © Michael Kappeler/dpa
With the so-called pension splitting, the pension entitlements acquired during a marriage or cohabitation are divided equally. If a partner dies, the surviving dependent receives 50 percent of the joint entitlements, plus their own from before the marriage. If a partner has not made any contribution payments, there are no additional pension payments either.
This is offset by the widow’s pension. These come in two varieties: large and small. With the large widow’s pension, you receive 55 percent of the partner’s pension that he or she would normally have received. The small widow’s pension is 25 percent. These entitlements apply to the contributions made throughout the life of the partner – even if no payments were made themselves.
Adjustment of the widow’s pension should create incentives to work
This is exactly what Schnitzer criticizes and therefore calls for pension splitting to be used instead. In this way, single contributors would not have to contribute to the financing of pension entitlements for non-working partners who do not pay into the system themselves, she explained Spiegel. In the case of a pension splitting, the surviving partner would only be entitled to half of the entitlement accumulated during the marriage.
This regulation is also intended to create stronger work incentives – especially for non-working partners. The current widow’s pension, on the other hand, has the opposite effect. Schnitzer also emphasizes that the request is her private opinion. It does not correspond to the position of the Council of Economic Experts. However, she subsequently received harsh criticism from politicians for the push to abolish the widow’s pension.
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