Armut im Alter – aktuelle Daten und Entwicklungen

In the context of the ongoing debate on the return of old-age poverty in Germany, this paper discusses the recent scientific literature on the subject in the light of new data on the income situation of the elderly. Taking into account differences between regions, gender, age groups and nationality the article investigates the extent of current old-age poverty and what future developments can be expected. It becomes clear that old-age poverty is presently not a general problem in Germany. Developments over the past twenty-years suggest, however, that things can change quickly. In particular, recent studies examining the states in the former GDR, where there is currently very little old-age poverty, reveal that this could soon develop into a serious problem. In analyses of old-age poverty it is also often overlooked that amongst non-German citizens in Germany there is already a group that is considerably affected by old-age poverty and within this group the numbers of those living in old-age poverty has increased considerably in recent years.