Now his wife needs care and the welfare scenario, including expropriation, is real. On the other hand, citizen benefit recipients in a similar situation would be left with significantly more generous “protection assets”.

The Baden-Württemberg resident says:

“I hoped until the end that things wouldn't turn out like this. They'll leave you a few hundred euros, I told myself. At least enough to make ends meet.

But then I kept the bill from the nursing home where my wife had recently stayed. I had to pay about 3300 euros. Only accommodation and food, no special requests. And the attendance allowance (attendance level 4) has already been deducted. It probably goes without saying what it means to spend 3,300 euros when you have a pension of 3,000 euros.

“Going out to eat? That was weird. A plane or boat trip? Never that.”

I was a tool maker, my wife was a textile salesperson, we were hardworking all our lives and at the same time very thrifty. Go to eat? That was weird. A trip by plane or by boat? That never. We put all the money in our little house. For now, so that our two children would have a nest. And for later, as insurance. If one of us got sick, we thought we would know something.

Of course, the plan was different. I am interested in culture, I like going to museums and I like beautiful landscapes. It would have also been nice for my wife to get out after so many years of operation. We have been thinking about a nice trip together for a long time.

But then my wife went crazy and I ended up working almost 24 hours a day. My wife can no longer stand, walk or go to the bathroom alone. A nursing service provides basic care. If you don't sleep at night because your partner has to go to the bathroom about five times, that's a drop in the ocean. You have to let go, the children said at some point.

“My wife now lives in a nursing home. The account has been empty since then.”

Almost two years ago I took the step and, with great regret, placed my wife in a nursing home. But letting go wasn't just emotional; I also had to say goodbye to something else. Until now I took it for granted that I would take money out of my account to go grocery shopping. Since the housing bill was paid, this no longer worked and the account was left empty. But so was the refrigerator.

It was strange to have to go to the bank before buying and then pay with your savings account for whole wheat bread, Maultaschen or potatoes. In my head I thought how long this could last, when I already had 300 euros in the red just to play at home. More food. More additional costs. Safer. My calculations showed that in about a year, all the savings saved would be exhausted. It would be a social case. My wife and I had contributed to this system together for a hundred years, and now this.

First, despite everything, you try to understand. The issue of healthcare is complex: more and more people are aging and the healthcare system is collapsing. It's probably no one's fault. We have to get over this, I told my wife, and that there are people who never really had a chance and deserve special protection.

For a few months I tolerated and endured for the common good. Among other things, shopping, which now almost seemed like a humiliation. Or even seeing the residents of a residence where they know that a bill never reaches a family member from the residence, but everything is paid directly by the office. And there is also pocket money.

Generous savings assets of 40,000 euros.

Then I heard on television about the citizens' money that the traffic light coalition had decided on. Above all, I don't understand the regulation surrounding so-called protected assets and the fact that those who need them can now own many more assets than before. The amount for the first year of receiving benefits was increased especially generously. Someone who receives aid now can keep 40,000 euros. A couple like us, on the other hand, is only allowed 10,000 euros per person.

It's one thing for people like my wife and I, who have paid into social security for many years, to end up with almost nothing. Anyone who wants to understand that someone who has never paid a cent in the end gets more, can understand it.

We have two children and it was a desire to be able to pass them on. And now? When the savings run out, the house is auctioned and the authorities collect the money. I could stay here, but after my death there would be nothing left. Meaning: My children left empty-handed. Also the daughter, who had a severely disabled son whom she cared for for 28 years and therefore has a very small pension. Is it clear to politicians what this means for social peace when the question of needs is not honestly analyzed and population groups, whether intentionally or not, are pitted against each other in this way?

“My letters to politicians were answered with standard letters”

My numerous letters to politicians, from Habeck to Lindner and Esken to the Chancellor, were answered with standard letters. No one has been able to explain to me the shameful injustice that is committed with the money and protected assets of citizens. At some point, in addition to the mix of financial pressure, lack of dignity and fear of the future, anger arises and I don't even want to know what would have happened if this ray of hope had not come completely unexpectedly.

Thanks to new and different medications, my wife has been feeling better for a few weeks now. It's good to have her back home and to form a team that tries to synchronize her five trips to the bathroom for her and three for me night after night.

It's nice, but it would be dishonest to relate the joy only to the two of us and not to the financial aspect.

Since the nursing home stopped sending bills, thoughts no longer constantly revolve around an impending welfare scenario, and going to the grocery store has lost its horror. Almost anyway. Because, of course, I know that everything can change at any time and with very little notice.

The savings asset solution, on the other hand, seems established. “That's what the traffic lights wanted, that's how this country moves into the future.”