More early retirees due to mental illness

Number of early retirees with mental illness increased significantly

01/28/2014

Mental illnesses are increasingly the cause of early retirement, according to the statement of the Psychotherapeutic Chamber in Berlin. As a result, tens of thousands of workers are retiring annually due to depression and other mental health problems. Adequate psychotherapeutic support could enable many people to return to work, but would „mentally ill early retirees practically written off“, quotes the news agency „dpa“ the chamber president Rainer Richter.

Citing the numbers of pension insurance, the Psychotherapeutic Chamber reports that the number of workers who are retiring early in Germany for mental illness has risen dramatically within ten years. While some 50,000 early retirees left the job in 2002 because of mental health problems, by 2012 the number had risen to around 75,000. The average age of those affected was just 49 years. They have therefore retired 18 years before the actual retirement age. The news agency „dpa“ reports that the President of the Chamber assumes that today almost every second newly arrived early retirement mentally.

Weaknesses in the therapeutic care
In particular, depression (increase by 96 percent), personality and behavioral disorders (increase of 74 percent) and addictions (increase by 49 percent) should, according to Chamber President Richter since 2001, have significantly increased as causes of early retirement. This is also related by the Psychotherapeutic Chamber to the fact that only one in three mentally ill in Germany actually receives therapy. Although many affected people could be helped, but show weaknesses in the therapeutic care. Among other things, the chamber president demanded that the often months-long waiting periods for a treatment place be finally reduced. Here clear legal requirements are required.

Poverty risk for early retirees
The fact that more and more pensions are taking early retirement due to mental health problems is particularly worrying in the view of the Psychotherapist's Chamber, as most of those affected have already gone through a long ordeal and subsequently the risk of poverty increases significantly. Thus, the earning reduction pensions have fallen sharply since the year 2000 and is today only an average of about 600 euros a month. As a result, more than 25 percent of disabled pensioners live in poverty. However, with adequate therapeutic support, many would have been able to return to work, according to the Chamber's communication. This would not only have a positive effect on the financial situation of those affected, but could in the opinion of experts also contribute to a stabilization of patients, if their mental health problems are treated in parallel appropriate. Instead of offering assistance here, however, the mentally ill early retirees would often be pushed back and forth between health and pension insurance, according to the Chamber President's criticism. (Fp)