Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

However, Australians traditionally have more home ownership than Germans.

by a good 15-20% if I remember correctly. I could write a lot about the differences. (e.g. kitchen/lamps in a rental apartment in Germany I find crazy)

I also find the pension issue frustrating. I am 34 now and my husband is 36. We have been paying in for 18 and 16 years respectively (we also worked part-time besides studying, before that vocational training, then regular work). And you can see on the payslip how much is taken out for the pension. And with the certain knowledge that we will hardly get anything from it. The current pensioners receive that. And with the knowledge that we will only get very little when we retire – at 70 or whatever late age. It will probably be the case that we are the losers of the system, because we pay in a lot but receive only a little.

It will probably be the case that we are the losers of the system because we pay in a lot but only get a little back.

We have it in our own hands by correcting the demographics. Have children, at least two. Then it will work out again.

So I lived in AUS for 3 months, but did not work. Basically, it was an extended family visit/vacation. In that respect, I was not familiar with the pension system in detail, especially since my father only had a tourist visa for repeatedly leaving and re-entering, and his wife was there as a guardian.

But I think I read something back then and remember that it did not seem completely stupid to me.

In my opinion, based on my experience from Queensland, the residential property is rather of lower quality in terms of substance (thin timber frame with simply boarded gypsum panels).

The pension issue frustrates me as well. I am now 34 and my husband 36. We have been paying in for 18 and 16 years respectively (we also worked part-time alongside our studies, before that vocational training, then regular employment). And you can see on the payslip how much goes towards the pension. And with the sure knowledge that we will virtually get nothing from it. The current retirees receive that. And with the knowledge that we will get very little when we retire – at 70 or whatever age that might be. It will probably be that we are the losers of the system because we pay a lot in but only receive a little.

Then we are about the same age. I see the whole thing a bit differently:

Since school, I have known that the state pension will never be enough. My parents have known this since then as well and reacted accordingly. For about 30 years, I have been saving into a pension insurance (until a few years ago my father did it for me). Due to the long term and the good guaranteed interest rate of the policy, this already represents the first building block for private retirement provision. When I started working, I took out another insurance. My employer currently pays 6.5% of my gross income into a company pension plan (I have zero personal contribution), which also pays out in case of disability. Additionally, there is a small investment portfolio and our condominium. As of today, my expected pensions will roughly match my current gross salary. Perhaps I will use this and retire earlier with deductions and use the gained time.

What am I getting at? The pension problem has been known for so long that anyone around 40 today could have long ago privately prepared. Starting an equity savings plan at 20 with 50 euros, saving for 45 years, and whoosh, in old age you have just over 100,000 euros in the portfolio. Of course, those who only start thinking about old age at 40 have it much harder. One of our biggest advantages is that we consciously decided against a house and in favor of an apartment. Our monthly burden is almost laughably low at 800 euros, and we have enough room for other projects and especially for reserves.

Starting a fund savings plan with 50 euros at 20 years old, saving for 45 years, and presto, you have just over 100,000 euros in the portfolio at retirement.

Only, the 100k after 45 years are not worth 100k. With 2% inflation, that corresponds rather to 40k in today's money, then you still have to pay taxes on the nominal gain (so also on the inflation). After taxes, at best, only a third of the 100k remains. From that, you can then withdraw about a hundred euros of today's purchasing power per month. For retirement provision, you have to go big, not small. The real problem with this story is not knowledge or preparation. It is the multiple burden of, on the one hand, paying high pension contributions for the older generation, and on the other hand, providing for your own old age. And then you should also have children to stabilize the system. It also doesn't really help that the state disguises a subsidy program for the insurance industry as retirement provision. Because a Riester plan is, in most cases, nothing else, and the typical company pension scheme is also bad. The tax and social security contribution advantages during the accumulation phase are largely eaten up by the corresponding burdens during the payout phase, and the high costs and low returns give the scheme the rest. Especially for people who started their working life in the 2010s, Riester and company pensions are worthless due to guarantees combined with zero interest rates.