BERLIN, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The German government approved a draft law to raise the minimum pension level, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS) announced on Wednesday.

After months of discussions, Labor and Social Affairs Minister Hubertus Heil was pleased that "this important social policy reform has finally succeeded."

From the beginning of next year, around 1.3 million citizens who had paid contributions to Germany's statutory pension insurance scheme for at least 33 years would now be entitled to additional pension payments, according to BMAS.

The introduction of the so-called basic pension was a "right and important social policy step and a necessary contribution" to counteract poverty in old age, stressed Heil.

BMAS noted that the basic pension in Germany would not require a means test but was instead determined by an income test. Pensioners would not need to file a request and citizens would automatically receive the additional payments.

The full additional payments were restricted to German pensioners whose annual income did not exceed 15,000 euros (16,197 U.S. dollars). For married couples and life partners, the limit would be 23,400 euros per year. Income above this limit would be credited to the basic pension, according to the BMAS.

According to calculations by the ministry, a low-income earner with 35 years of a basic pension could receive a monthly supplement of around 400 euros.

In order to avoid higher contributions to national pension scheme, the additional cost of nearly 1.3 billion euros in the first year 2021 would be financed by increasing federal subsidies to the pension insurance, according to the draft law. Enditem

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