WIESBADEN (dpa-AFX) – More old people in Germany are dependent on basic security. However, the number of recipients of benefits due to permanent incapacity to work fell, as the Federal Statistical Office announced. In total, 1.28 million people received basic security at the end of last year – 1.8 percent more than in December of the previous year.
Basic security benefits in old age and in cases of reduced earning capacity are regulated in the twelfth Social Security Code. They can be given to adults who are either permanently unable to work full-time, for example due to illness or disability, or who have reached an age limit depending on the year of birth and cannot support themselves.
More old people, fewer people with reduced earning capacity
Around 764,000 people received basic security in old age in December 2025. From the end of 2024 to the end of 2025 their number increased by 3.4 percent. This means that a new high was reached, as the statisticians reported.
The trend was reversed among recipients of basic security in the event of reduced earning capacity. Their number fell by 0.5 percent within a year – according to the Federal Statistical Office, the lowest level since December 2018.
Another, but smaller, increase among Ukrainians
The number of refugees from Ukraine eligible for benefits rose by 9.9 percent to a total of 109,000. “This increase once again made a significant contribution to the overall development, but was once again lower than in previous years,” the office classified the figures./sat/DP/zb
