December 2022
14Dec

Germany. Scholz wants to limit early retirement to weather German labour crisis

While Germany's chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for policies to discourage people from taking early retirement, the FDP is looking to Sweden for inspiration, considering the economic benefits of a more flexible retirement policy and how it may help plug the country’s labour shortage. Scholz calls for cutbacks in early retirements Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz has made an appeal to people over the age of 60, calling on them to delay their retirement. The SPD politician said that pension-age people delaying...

December 14, 2022
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November 2022
17Nov

Germany. Social partners move forward to implement pure DC plans

German employer and employee representatives are taking the first steps to implement the social partner models for pensions signed up recently, under a new legal framework, with other candidates planning to offer pure defined contribution (DC) schemes. The investment strategy under the social partner model set up by energy company Uniper with unions is taking shape, with a social partner advisory board – Sozialpartnerbeirat – constituted last week, that has decided on asset class allocation, and the upper limit of...

November 17, 2022
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16Nov

Germany prepares to reform all three pension system pillars

The German government is targeting a comprehensive reform of all the three pension system pillars during what it considers a turning point in history – Zeitwende – with high inflation, possible recession, changes in economic policies and demographic pressures. Speaking at the Handelsblatt occupational pension forum in Berlin today, Florian Toncar, parliamentary state secretary at the Ministry of Finance, said that the government will strengthen the capital funded components in all three pension system pillars, with the first pillar having...

November 16, 2022
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08Nov

German pensions to rise in 2023 with contribution hikes on the horizon

As usual, pensions in Germany are set to go up next summer, according to a new report seen by Bild am Sonntag. As Germany struggles to retain the sustainability of its pension system, contribution rates are set to remain stable for next four years, but hikes are on the horizon. Pensions in Germany are adjusted every year in line with wage development. Although the increase in 2023 isn’t enough to offset the rising cost of living in Germany - and...

November 8, 2022
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October 2022
25Oct

Number of pensioners in poverty on the rise in Germany

The aim of the pension system in Germany is to ensure that anyone who has spent a good portion of their life working can draw upon decent pension benefits when they retire. But according to a new report, for a rising number of people, the old-age pension is not enough to live on. 628.000 pensioners in Germany drawing basic subsistence benefits A growing number of pensioners in Germany are being forced to rely on basic subsistence benefits, as well as...

October 25, 2022
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07Oct

German cabinet approves €300 energy relief payment for pensioners

The German cabinet has approved a one-time payment in December for pensioners to provide relief for rising energy bills. The €300 payment is to be paid out by December 15th, Labour Minister Hubertus Heil, of the Social Democrats, said on Wednesday following the cabinet meeting. The cabinet also decided on a higher upper limit for people with so-called midi-jobs, which is a type of marginal employment in between a mini-job (which is generally exempt from taxes and social contributions) and...

October 7, 2022
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03Oct

Germany. Pension levels in the east are still well below the west level

More than 30 years after reunification, the pension level in East Germany is still well below the level in West Germany. In 2021, for example, pensioners in eastern Germany received an average of EUR 1,329 after 45 years of contributions, compared to EUR 1,527 in western Germany. This emerges from a response from the Federal Ministry of Labor to a written request from Left Party member of the Bundestag Sören Pellmann on the Day of German Unity, which was...

October 3, 2022
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August 2022
05Aug

CFA Society Germany proposes merger of occupational with private pension systems

CFA Society Germany, the association of investment professionals, has proposed the merger between the country’s occupational and private pension systems under a format based on models in place in Sweden and Canada to cut administrative and sales costs that would lead to an increase in the level of pensions. The models would cater for two different market segments, one including savers opting for a standardised, state-run pension product, and another for savers who demand control over investments, the association said...

August 5, 2022
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July 2022
26Jul

German government invests pension assets in oil, gas firms despite ESG index switch

The German government continues to invest public pension and social security assets in oil, coal and gas companies on the equity market, despite announcing that it would switch to an ESG index by the end of the year. According to a report by investigative documentary series Panorama, the German government invests a total of €573.59m in oil, gas and coal companies on the equity market to finance the pensions of civil servants. The government has confirmed that it has invested more...

July 26, 2022
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05Jul

German regulator adds more guidelines for occupational schemes’ risk assessment reports

The German financial supervisory authority, BaFin, has released further guidelines for occupational pension schemes to improve their own risk assessment reports, which that are so far not in line with the requirements set by the regulator. IORPs are not meeting the minimum requirements specified in the circular 09/2020 (VA), that provides information on the interpretation of regulations on own risk assessment (ERB) according to paragraph 234d of the Insurance Supervision Act (VAG). The ERB circular recommends occupational schemes to structure risk...

July 5, 2022
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