Hi Michael,
there's an error in your caluculation of German pensions - there are more pensioners who only receive 100 Euro or less a week than those that receive 230 Euro or more. I, for instance, can only dream of such an amount! 
In Germany the pension is depending on what you have earned on an average and how long you were working, moroever the health insurance and the old age care insurance are deducted from your pension, so that the net amount you receive on your account is much lower.

Hello Michael,
just saw a discussion about pensions on German TV, among others there was also a lady telling us that she just gets 630 Euro per month - she has worked for 29 years in a bookshop. Perhaps this is of some interest to you.

It is dreadful Teri,29 years for that ! 

Ha phoenix I dont get that off the state lol

The young workers of today are all watching this space,they wont get a private pension no point, I get told, look at you ! and I have to agree I am worse off with one.They are mostly putting their money in property so they can sell it and move away without relying on a pension from the UK,because if you move out of this country you dont get the rises,not that, thats, anything to write home about,but you wont pay this tax either.

Teri, Yes, our pensioners receive an inflation linked state pension of £90 a week for a working life of contributions, and means testing is costing 10 times more than the restoration of the earnings link would cost.

While other posters talk about young workers, but who has made it bad for them ?, we have, our generation are responsible.

Because we are primarily self interested, we are not a politically motivated country, and many pensioners vote the way their parents did, without having any knowledge of the ideoligy of the party.

The 18 years of Thatcher and Major rule, got rid of council house house building, got rid of state pensions, got rid of minimum wages, and began to run down the "role of the state".

We have seen the very same with New Labour.

Is it any wonder our young people are drinking thmselves to death.

Just one click told me everything, the UKIP, absolute balderdash from start to finish.

It is sad indeed today with our freedom of the press, that there is not media outlet newspaper that is revealing the positives of Europe, the most thriving economy in the Western World, while we dissapear down the plug hole.

The UKIP preach to the converted, they have no opposition, sadly.

But then again, neither do our New Labour Government having stolen Thatcherite clothes since 1997, but will Cameron admit this ?, no of course he wont, another right wing politician who simply does not want to give our media the fodder they need to chew on, so the likes of Dimbleby and co. can make millions by continued political impartiality.