In Germany, about one in five people with at least 45 years of insurance receive a pension of less than 1,200 euros per month, according to a government response to politician Sahra Wagenknecht.

This amounts to approximately 1.08 million individuals out of 5.4 million retirees.

The situation is particularly dire in eastern Germany, where the number of low pensions is even higher than in the west.

For instance, in Brandenburg, around 71,000 retirees receive less than 1,200 euros, while in Saxony, the figure is 145,000. Wagenknecht criticized the pension system, calling it a "political scandal" and suggested that Germany should adopt Austria's model, where the average pension is 800 euros higher.

She argues that the current pension levels are inadequate and calls for reforms to improve the situation for retirees.