Two months without income. That’s scary. And it affects almost everyone who receives citizen’s benefit and retires. The law does not provide for an orderly transition. Instead, the state ensures that people live below the subsistence level – quite deliberately. The generous offer to somehow make ends meet: a loan. The start to retirement could hardly be more modest.
Problem: First pension gap
The problem, known as the “initial pension gap,” arises from the payment dates for the different benefits. Here’s an example:
Anyone who retires or has to retire on December 1st is no longer entitled to citizen’s benefit in December. This means that the last citizen’s benefit payment will take place at the beginning of November. The pension, in turn, is usually only paid out at the end of the month, i.e. at the end of December. Two months pass between these dates or between basic security and pension.
Same dilemma: new job
The same goes for everyone who manages to find a new job. If the first day of work is March 1st, the citizen’s allowance benefits will arrive for the last time at the beginning of February, but the wages will not arrive until the end of March or the beginning of April. Here, too, there is a gap that has to be bridged somehow.
+++ Citizen’s benefit in the month you start the job
Reserves are missing
But people who have been dependent on citizens’ money for a long time usually have no reserves. Or the savings are not enough front and back. Because this is not just about the rule set. The issue of rent and heating costs is also in the room. This quickly adds up to an amount that causes those affected to fear for the future. Falling below the subsistence level is not a pleasant idea.
State allows financial hardship
With regard to prospective pensioners, the legislature has long been aware of this problem. But instead of really helping,… §37a SGB XII (loan for income due at the end of the month) only pointed out that those affected must be granted a loan that must be repaid monthly at 5 percent of the standard requirement level 1 – i.e. at 5.0 percent of 563 euros: 28.15 euros. Money that is missing. This is how you let people run into financial distress with their eyes on them.
Cover photo: Stramp / shutterstock
