diff --git a/pkg/cluster/cluster.go b/pkg/cluster/cluster.go
index 331da35e0..512f6a6c9 100644
--- a/pkg/cluster/cluster.go
+++ b/pkg/cluster/cluster.go
@@ -599,7 +599,7 @@ func (c *Cluster) enforceMinResourceLimits(spec *acidv1.PostgresSpec) error {
 // for a cluster that had no such job before. In this case a missing job is not an error.
 func (c *Cluster) Update(oldSpec, newSpec *acidv1.Postgresql) error {
 	updateFailed := false
-	syncStatetfulSet := false
+	syncStatefulSet := false
 
 	c.mu.Lock()
 	defer c.mu.Unlock()
@@ -620,7 +620,7 @@ func (c *Cluster) Update(oldSpec, newSpec *acidv1.Postgresql) error {
 	if IsBiggerPostgresVersion(oldSpec.Spec.PostgresqlParam.PgVersion, c.GetDesiredMajorVersion()) {
 		c.logger.Infof("postgresql version increased (%s -> %s), depending on config manual upgrade needed",
 			oldSpec.Spec.PostgresqlParam.PgVersion, newSpec.Spec.PostgresqlParam.PgVersion)
-		syncStatetfulSet = true
+		syncStatefulSet = true
 	} else {
 		c.logger.Infof("postgresql major version unchanged or smaller, no changes needed")
 		// sticking with old version, this will also advance GetDesiredVersion next time.
@@ -689,9 +689,9 @@ func (c *Cluster) Update(oldSpec, newSpec *acidv1.Postgresql) error {
 			updateFailed = true
 			return
 		}
-		if syncStatetfulSet || !reflect.DeepEqual(oldSs, newSs) || !reflect.DeepEqual(oldSpec.Annotations, newSpec.Annotations) {
+		if syncStatefulSet || !reflect.DeepEqual(oldSs, newSs) || !reflect.DeepEqual(oldSpec.Annotations, newSpec.Annotations) {
 			c.logger.Debugf("syncing statefulsets")
-			syncStatetfulSet = false
+			syncStatefulSet = false
 			// TODO: avoid generating the StatefulSet object twice by passing it to syncStatefulSet
 			if err := c.syncStatefulSet(); err != nil {
 				c.logger.Errorf("could not sync statefulsets: %v", err)
diff --git a/pkg/cluster/sync_test.go b/pkg/cluster/sync_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..440835345
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/cluster/sync_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,121 @@
+package cluster
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"context"
+
+	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	acidv1 "github.com/zalando/postgres-operator/pkg/apis/acid.zalan.do/v1"
+	fakeacidv1 "github.com/zalando/postgres-operator/pkg/generated/clientset/versioned/fake"
+	"github.com/zalando/postgres-operator/pkg/util/config"
+	"github.com/zalando/postgres-operator/pkg/util/k8sutil"
+	"k8s.io/client-go/kubernetes/fake"
+)
+
+func newFakeK8sSyncClient() (k8sutil.KubernetesClient, *fake.Clientset) {
+	acidClientSet := fakeacidv1.NewSimpleClientset()
+	clientSet := fake.NewSimpleClientset()
+
+	return k8sutil.KubernetesClient{
+		PodsGetter:         clientSet.CoreV1(),
+		PostgresqlsGetter:  acidClientSet.AcidV1(),
+		StatefulSetsGetter: clientSet.AppsV1(),
+	}, clientSet
+}
+
+func TestSyncStatefulSetsAnnotations(t *testing.T) {
+	testName := "test syncing statefulsets annotations"
+	client, _ := newFakeK8sSyncClient()
+	clusterName := "acid-test-cluster"
+	namespace := "default"
+
+	pg := acidv1.Postgresql{
+		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+			Name:        clusterName,
+			Namespace:   namespace,
+			Annotations: map[string]string{"test-anno": "true"},
+		},
+		Spec: acidv1.PostgresSpec{
+			Volume: acidv1.Volume{
+				Size: "1Gi",
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	var cluster = New(
+		Config{
+			OpConfig: config.Config{
+				PodManagementPolicy: "ordered_ready",
+				Resources: config.Resources{
+					ClusterLabels:         map[string]string{"application": "spilo"},
+					ClusterNameLabel:      "cluster-name",
+					DefaultCPURequest:     "300m",
+					DefaultCPULimit:       "300m",
+					DefaultMemoryRequest:  "300Mi",
+					DefaultMemoryLimit:    "300Mi",
+					InheritedAnnotations:  []string{"test-anno"},
+					PodRoleLabel:          "spilo-role",
+					ResourceCheckInterval: time.Duration(3),
+					ResourceCheckTimeout:  time.Duration(10),
+				},
+			},
+		}, client, pg, logger, eventRecorder)
+
+	cluster.Name = clusterName
+	cluster.Namespace = namespace
+
+	// create a new Postgresql resource
+	_, err := cluster.KubeClient.Postgresqls(namespace).Create(
+		context.TODO(), &pg, metav1.CreateOptions{})
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// create a statefulset
+	sts, err := cluster.createStatefulSet()
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+	cluster.Statefulset = sts
+
+	// update postgresql and remove annotation to force sync
+	newPg := acidv1.Postgresql{
+		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+			Name:      clusterName,
+			Namespace: namespace,
+		},
+		Spec: acidv1.PostgresSpec{
+			Volume: acidv1.Volume{
+				Size: "1Gi",
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	_, err = cluster.KubeClient.Postgresqls(namespace).Update(
+		context.TODO(), &newPg, metav1.UpdateOptions{})
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// empty annotations on cluster ObjectMeta object as well
+	cluster.ObjectMeta.Annotations = map[string]string{}
+
+	// first compare running with desired statefulset - they should not match
+	desiredSts, err := cluster.generateStatefulSet(&cluster.Postgresql.Spec)
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+
+	cmp := cluster.compareStatefulSetWith(desiredSts)
+	if cmp.match {
+		t.Errorf("%s: match between current and desired statefulsets albeit differences: %#v", testName, cmp)
+	}
+
+	// now sync statefulset - the diff should trigger a replacement
+	cluster.syncStatefulSet()
+
+	// compare them again
+	_, err = cluster.KubeClient.StatefulSets(namespace).Get(context.TODO(), clusterName, metav1.GetOptions{})
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+
+	cmp = cluster.compareStatefulSetWith(desiredSts)
+	if !cmp.match {
+		t.Errorf("%s: current and desired statefulsets are not matching %#v", testName, cmp)
+	}
+}