October 2019

25Oct

Germany: Age Limits For Occupational Pensions Not Discriminatory Against Women

The Federal Constitutional Court clarified that maximum age limits for occupational pension benefits do not violate the general principle of equality. This confirms the jurisdiction of the Federal Labor Court, according to which maximum age limits for occupational pension schemes do not constitute age discrimination or even discrimination against women. Federal Constitutional Court, Non-acceptance order July 23, 2019 – Case 1 BvR 684/14 The complainant had initially retired from gainful employment due to the birth of her child and...

October 25, 2019
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23Oct

German Bundesbank recommends raising retirement age to 69

Imagine working until at least the age of 69 - that’s what the experts at the Bundesbank in Germany are recommending. They argue that such a change is necessary; otherwise pension payments will fall too low in the face of rising life expectancies. Demographic change puts pressure on German pension system Discussing the prospect of a future reform of the pension system in Germany, the Bundesbank has proposed a long-term increase in the retirement age to 69 years...

October 23, 2019
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September 2019
20Sep

Old-Age Poverty: The Household Perspective; A Microsimulation Approach of Pension Entitlements in Germany

By Sebastian Finkler Providing a decent living standard and preventing old-age poverty are the two major challenges of pension insurance schemes. Replacement rates below the poverty line despite many years of contribution represent a major challenge for public pension schemes with respect to the systems 'raison d’être'. The focus of the present paper turns away from individual perspective and considers household retirement incomes in the light of analysing old-age poverty and designing (minimum) pension policies. Using household survey and...

September 20, 2019
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19Sep

German women pensioners receive 26% less than men

A study published on Tuesday showed that female pensioners in Germany receive on average 26% less in pension payments than men. The gender pension gap means that retired women receive an average of €140 less per month than men. The study estimates that this means that when entering retirement, the average German woman would need around an extra €25,000 ($27,500) in savings in order to close the gap for their retirement. The research was carried out at the University...

September 19, 2019
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August 2019

28Aug

Berlin-based mobile savings platform Raisin to acquire pension fintech Fairr

Raisin, the Germany-based savings and investment platform, said it acquired Fairr, a fintech also located there that specializes in pensions and retirement savings. Raisin officials said the acquisition will help its 200,000 customers gain access to fixed-term, overnight and ETF accounts, as well as specialized pension plans. Read also How Fintech Can Make Banking More Inclusive – and Empowering The German pension market is estimated to be more than $13.3 trillion (12 trillion euro) and Raisin said the...

August 28, 2019
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16Aug

Workplace Pensions In Germany: What You Need To Know

In Germany, paying contributions to the statutory (state) social security pension is compulsory for most employees and their employers. In addition many companies, in particular large and international enterprises, choose to offer employer-financed (second tier) workplace pension schemes to help attract and retain staff. Workplace pension arrangements may be set up using one of five different pension vehicles. Details of each type of vehicle are set out in this note. Since 2002, employers must enable their staff to make employee contributions to...

August 16, 2019
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06Aug

Early retirement is becoming more and more popular in Germany

To many people, it may seem like a far-fetched dream, but to an increasing number, early retirement is becoming an everyday reality. For some time now, workers in Germany have been able to pay additional contributions towards their pension in order to be able to retire early without penalties. The latest figures show that the scheme is becoming more and more popular - but it costs a pretty penny. Voluntary pension contributions on the up The Deutsche Rentenversicherung, the...

August 6, 2019
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July 2019

12Jul

Pensions in Germany will be 100 percent taxable by 2040

Many-a-person in Germany breathes a sigh of relief upon entering retirement: “Finally, an end to all that taxation!” It may come as a nasty surprise, therefore, that around a quarter of pensioners in Germany still have to pay income taxes - and the number is set to increase over the next few years. One in four pensioners in Germany paid income tax in 2015 According to official figures from Destatis, the Federal Statistical Office, in 2015 around 21,2 million people in Germany were receiving either a...

July 12, 2019
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May 2019

30May

Poverty risk could increase for German pensioners if pension level continues to fall: study

The poverty risk rate for people aged 65 and over would rise by up to 20 percent if the German pension level continued to fall and the framework conditions did not change, according to a study by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) published on Wednesday. The DIW study showed that under current laws, the German pension level is expected to fall continuously to around 43 percent in 2045 from 48 percent today. Since the early 2000s, Germany's...

May 30, 2019
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01May

Pensions in Germany to rise by more than 3 pct after annual adjustment

The German federal cabinet approved a decree by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs on Tuesday that will see pensions in Germany rise noticeably. The cabinet approval of the annual pension adjustment, which is based on wage developments, will increase pensions in western Germany by 3.18 percent as of July 1, and by as much as 3.91 percent in eastern Germany. German Labour and Social Affairs Minister Hubertus Heil commented that the rise was an "extraordinarily positive development in pensions". The...

May 1, 2019
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