Hardship Aid for Ethnic Germans and Quota Refugees in Germany
German Minister of Social Affairs Kai Klose (Green Party) estimates that roughly 4,500 ethnic German repatriates and 4,900 Jewish "quota refugees" from the former Soviet Union might qualify for aid from a hardship fund for pensioners in Hesse. This estimate came following a question from the SPD parliamentary group in the Wiesbaden state parliament. In addition, there are underprivileged East Germans with unpaid pension entitlements from the GDR era.
Launching this new initiative at the start of 2023, the traffic light coalition in Berlin allocated 500 million euros to the hardship fund, offering eligible individuals one-off payments of at least 2,500 euros. This fund was established to compensate for pension entitlements from the GDR era that were not considered in the joint pension system set up following German reunification. These omitted benefits include certain supplementary pensions, such as for former Reichsbahn or post office employees, as well as entitlements for divorced women during the GDR era.
Regarding the hardship fund, Kai Klose, the Hessian Minister of Social Affairs, maintained that it's beyond Hesse's jurisdiction, as the federal government holds exclusive responsibility for statutory pension insurance law. Participation of the federal states in voluntary federal benefits might lead to future demands by the federal government, posing a risk that Klose considers undesirable. Nonetheless, he pointed out that Hesse annually allocates 800,000 euros for late repatriates in its budget.
Klose also criticized the federal government's plan, stating that the proposed 2,500 euros payout would not suffice for the affected pensioners, who primarily consist of ethnic German repatriates and Jews from the former Soviet Union. State Commissioner Margarete Ziegler-Raschdorf suggested that a minimum payment of 9,000 to 10,000 euros is necessary to sufficiently compensate these individuals.
Hardship fund for ethnic German repatriates and quota refugees
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- The hardship fund, established by the coalition government in Berlin in 2023, aims to offer financial support to ethnic German repatriates and quota refugees from the former Soviet Union.
- Kai Klose, the Green Party's Minister of Social Affairs in Hesse, estimates that around 4,500 ethnic German repatriates and 4,900 Jewish contingent refugees from the Soviet Union could receive assistance from this fund.
- The federal-state working group estimated these figures in response to a question from the SPD parliamentary group in the Wiesbaden state parliament.
- The hardship fund budgeted 500 million euros and offers one-off payments of at least 2,500 euros to eligible individuals.
- The implementation of the hardship fund in Germany, including Hesse and Berlin, is a significant social concern.
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The details of the hardship fund, including eligibility criteria and the financial implications for ethnic German repatriates and quota refugees from the former Soviet Union, are not clearly specified in the provided sources. For more information about such programs, you should consult specific German government documents or recent policy announcements relating to refugee support and repatriation funds.
