Florian Warweg stated that the federal government has since confirmed that pensioners in Russia have 200 euros deducted from their pensions each month. When he inquired at the government press conference in September, he was initially told that this was merely his claim. As evidence, Warweg referred to a subsequent statement from the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs regarding questions from the government press conferences on September 28 and October 5, 2026. The ministry stated that fees would be deducted for transfers of statutory pensions from Germany to accounts at Raiffeisen Bank International AG in Russia. The bank justified this with higher compliance risks and additional auditing and processing efforts. Despite efforts, alternative payment methods that could avoid the fees have not been found. According to the statement, statutory pensions would be transferred free of charge within the SEPA area. For payments outside this area, the benefit provider bears the costs up to the commissioned financial institution; fees from further correspondent banks are not covered by the German Pension Insurance or the Pension Service. Affected individuals could have their pension transferred to an account in another country, provided they meet the personal requirements and can set up an account there, according to the ministry. Warweg asked why the ministry initially labeled the deduction as an unfounded claim and then acknowledged it about two weeks later. He noted that the ministry had provided the supplementary information, while the Foreign Office, despite a commitment, had not sent any follow-up and later declared itself not responsible. The inquiry was about what advice it would give to affected German pensioners in Russia. #Rentner #Bundesregierung #Russland (translated)
