Old-Age Poverty – Background and Facts

Authors: Ulrich Bieber, Dr. Michael Stegmann/Locations: Rheinbach, Würzburg

Without any question, the intensive debate about old-age poverty is justified. Temporarily, the issue is attracting lively media attention. However, the debate is emotionally charged, a fact which often impedes a matter-of-fact discussion. The authors intend to contribute to objectification by concentrating on two questions: “What is old-age poverty?” and “How significant is old-age poverty today?”.

“Poverty” is a complex term that eludes a generally accepted definition. In public dispute, poverty is generally discussed – in a simplified way – on the basis of two concepts: the relative income poverty (“relative Einkommensarmut”) or the sociocultural minimum subsistance (“sozio-kulturelles Existenzminimum”). The authors enlighten the background of both “measure concepts” and present current data. The authors illustrate the conventional statistic methods for both concepts. As to the sociocultural minimum subsistance, they outline, in addition, the most important aspects of the legal and institutional framework.

On the basis of the empiric findings, the authors conclude that old-age poverty cannot be regarded as a burning issue for the vast majority of elderly persons.

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