German authorities will have to face lawyers defending pensioners
And then I remembered a story told to me by a fellow countryman living in a completely different part of Germany, in city N. It is not nameless because we are ashamed to name it, but rather because what my acquaintance told me is happening everywhere now.
In the distant nineties, when I arrived for permanent residence in Germany, there was no column about receiving a pension in the departure documents – the consulate workers already knew that from a certain age a pension is granted in Russia. After some time, this column appeared, and it required not only to indicate the receipt of a pension but also its amount. My fellow countryman, naturally, like everyone else, filled it in.
After some time, he received permission to leave for Germany and began to live. True, he did not manage to accumulate wealth, but food and cultural services were covered by social benefits and his modest Soviet pension. In addition, in the brochure that was distributed to newcomers and was called 'What I should know about and in Germany', he read that, depending on his profession – he was a cultural scientist – he could and was paid for tickets to exhibitions, theater, cinema, and other cultural events.
Several years passed, this help disappeared somewhere, as did help for furniture, clothing, and Christmas money. True, the authorities claimed that all this was added to the benefit, although knowledge of arithmetic even within the primary school curriculum was enough to understand that these amounts did not match. Well, never mind.
And then – suddenly! – officials found out that, according to the law, the Russian pension is income that pensioners living here should spend first, and only then apply for benefits. Well, what to do, spend it if you must, and it's fair – German low-income pensioners had their crumbs taken into account from the very beginning. But now I'll continue about my fellow countryman.
So, the mentioned letter asking to provide documents about the pension also came to my fellow countryman. He went to the social welfare office to find out what kind of strange request this was? And they explained to him:
– You received your pension earlier and spent it on yourself, right? And that is income. So give us a certificate of how much you received earlier, month by month.
– Well, I never, – said my fellow countryman. – I indicated the amount at the time. Why didn't you deduct it? It turns out that you miscalculated yourselves – and I have to pay back, over these years such a sum will accumulate, unbearable for me!
The consultant looked at him angrily. Her answer sounded somehow familiarly Soviet:
– That is not your concern. Yours is to provide the documents.
My comrade went to a lawyer. He listened to him, treated him to coffee, and said:
– We'll deal with the consultant, but you have to pay – if they gave extra money, they can demand it back. But not all at once, you'll pay in installments.
I don't know how things turned out with that woman, but my fellow countryman stopped being interested in cultural novelties, and the snacks on his table became very modest. (I usually bring a bottle with me.)
At this point, the food for thought could be ended. But there is something else I want to say. There is a saying: 'The law is harsh, but it is just.' To prove its correctness, an association of lawyers has been created that will also deal with pension issues. Let us wish it success.
Rudolf EREMENKO.
