As many contemporary workers fear poverty in old age, a recent study by the Pestel Institute suggests. The study, to be presented in Berlin on Wednesday by the “Soziales Wohnen” alliance, of which the Industriegewerkschaft Bauen-Agrar-Umwelt (IG BAU) is a part, estimates that up to 14.1 million “baby boomers” will retire by 2035, with at least 2.8 million of them at risk of poverty. According to the calculation, at least 600,000 of these baby boomers will be reliant on a basic income in old age.
In light of the numbers, IG BAU’s federal chairman, Robert Feiger, is calling for more efforts in building social housing. “Our goal should be to have at least two million social housing units across the country by 2030” Feiger told the Funke media group’s newspapers. In 2023, Germany had 1.07 million social housing units.
“Actually, we would need 5.6 million social housing units today to cater to everyone who is entitled to one” Feiger said, describing the situation as a “chronic burnout on the social housing market.” For many baby boomers who have been unemployed in between and worked at low wages, the rent in old age would become a “k.o.-rent” according to Feiger.
“Hundreds of thousands will be in need of social housing in the coming years” the IG BAU chief warned, adding that the country also needs foreign labor, particularly in the construction sector, as people retire. These foreign workers, in turn, need affordable housing.