June 2021
10Jun

Angela Merkel – Germany’s Scholz rejects further hike of retirement age to 68

Angela Merkel – Germany’s Scholz rejects further hike of retirement age to 68 Olaf Scholz, German Finance Minister and Chancellor candidate of the Social Democratic party SPD for the upcoming September general elections speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Federal Ministry of Finance in Berlin, Germany June 2, 2021. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday a proposal by economic advisers to raise the retirement age further to 68 was wrong and that citizens could rely...

June 10, 2021
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01Jun

Germany plans pension taxation reform after election

Germany's Finance Ministry said on Monday it plans to reform the taxation of pensions after September's federal election, responding to the federal fiscal court's demand for an overhaul to avoid the double taxation of future retirement savings. "This is a proposed solution that we can imagine," State Secretary Rolf Boesinger said in Munich. He spoke after the court dismissed one couple's double taxation complaint but said future pensioners were at risk of having to pay taxes twice under existing transitional regulations. The...

June 1, 2021
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May 2021
31May

German court rejects complaints against double taxation of pensions

Germany's federal fiscal court on Monday rejected as unfounded a retired couple's objection to their retirement benefits being double taxed. The court case resulted from a 2005 change in the law that made pensions liable to tax. Until then, pensions had been essentially tax-exempt as the contributions were made from taxed salaries. Under the 2005 law, pension contribution payments gradually became essentially tax free while the taxable share of pension income was increased in a process set to conclude by 2040. The...

May 31, 2021
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20May

Pensions in Germany to rise by average of 5 percent next year

After seeing their benefits stagnate in 2021 due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, pensioners in Germany can look forward to an increase next year. The government is also changing the way benefits are calculated, which could mean a permanent increase for pensions in Germany. More money in German pensioners’ pockets Every year, the German federal government makes a so-called pension adjustment (Rentenanpassung), based on the development of salaries in the previous year. A few weeks ago it was...

May 20, 2021
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18May

Aon to sell pension, investment consulting units in Germany to LCP

Aon agreed to sell its pension consulting, pension administration and investment consulting businesses in Germany to consultant Lane Clark & Peacock as the firm seeks to secure clearance from the European Commission for its merger with Willis Towers Watson. In a news release Monday, Aon said the deal with LCP "resolves questions raised by the European Commission with respect to the markets in which these businesses are active." The commission has been investigating competition issues related to the Aon-WTW merger...

May 18, 2021
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18May

UK pension fund USS buys half of 4-GW solar platform in Spain

UK private pension fund, the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), has made a deal to acquire a 50% stake in Spain-based renewables platform Bruc Energy, it was announced on Monday. Bruc Energy operates as an investment vehicle of Spanish fund manager Bruc Management and is focused on solar photovoltaic (PV) assets in Spain and Portugal. The vehicle is co-owned by Canadian pension fund OPTrust and Juan Bejar, Spanish businessman and chairman of Bruc Management. USS has invested EUR 225 million (USD 273m)...

May 18, 2021
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11May

German utility giant Eon starts €2.5bn pension fund

German utility giant Eon has created a new pension fund structure that will cover 10,000 members and have €2.5bn (£2.15bn) in assets under management. Eon acquired German energy company Innogy from RWE in 2019. Innogy’s pension assets from RWE Pensionsfonds were transferred to Willis Towers Watson’s Pensionsfonds in December that same year as an interim solution. Eon will use the pension expertise of Willis Towers Watson for both implementation and the ongoing operations of the new pension structure. Stefan Brenk, head of...

May 11, 2021
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06May

Germany hatches plan to attract green investment capital

The German government is planning a new green financing strategy to steer capital towards environmental projects and developing Germany into a leading hub for sustainable finance, plans seen by Reuters show. The so-called Sustainable Finance Strategy plan lists 26 individual measures and is due to be adopted by the cabinet on Wednesday with a view to mobilising investment for climate protection projects. "The federal government wants to develop Germany into a leading location for sustainable finance," states the plan, which is...

May 6, 2021
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April 2021
01Apr

Reference Points for Retirement Behavior: Evidence from German Pension Discontinuities

By Arthur Seibold This paper documents and analyzes an important and puzzling stylized fact about retirement behavior: the large concentration of job exits at specific ages. In Germany, almost 30% of workers retire precisely in the month when they reach one of three statutory retirement ages, although there is often no incentive or even a disincentive to retire at these thresholds. To study what can explain the concentration of retirements around statutory ages, I use novel administrative data covering the...

April 1, 2021
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February 2021
25Feb

Germany. Vantik and Mastercard simplify saving for retirement with new debit card

Financial security in retirement is one of the most urgent issues in Germany and Europe. In order to offer people a simple access to savings for retirement, the Berlin-based Fintech Vantik announces a partnership with Mastercard and the banking-as-a-service-platform Vodeno. The heart of the cooperation is the combination of a free debit Mastercard with long-term savings: users of the Vantikcard receive 1% cashback on every purchase, which are automatically invested into a sustainable pension fund. Saving for retirement is thus...

February 25, 2021
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