Retirement Planning Pension Survey: Majority Wants to Strengthen the Statutory Pension

Please, a more realistic approach! This sentence sums up what most people in Germany want from politicians when it comes to pensions.

IG Metall commissioned a representative survey on this topic .

The result: A clear majority wants to see the statutory pension insurance system strengthened. Most respondents reject cuts to retirement benefits. And they make it clear that the public debate on pensions misses the mark in many ways when it comes to the real-life situations of workers.

The survey results in detail:

Pension Levels

Only 11 percent of respondents consider the current pension level sufficient. Two-thirds (67 percent) call for a higher pension level, even if that might mean slightly higher pension contributions. Only 9 percent call for a lower level in order to keep the contribution rate stable in the long term.

Background: Under the federal government’s planned“Pension Package II,”the pension level is to be stabilized at 48 percent of average income.

Pension Contributions

Respondents are not only willing to pay slightly higher pension contributions for an adequate pension; the majority are even willing to make voluntary additional contributions to the statutory pension insurance system through extra payments.

For 70 percent of those surveyed, voluntary additional contributions would be a viable option for personally securing higher pension entitlements . 41 percent would make voluntary additional pension contributions contingent on equal matching contributions from the employer. 29 percent support the idea even without this condition.

Background: To some extent, the option of voluntary additional contributions already exists today: Starting at age 50, employees can use them to offset pension reductions if they wish to retire early.

“Pension at 63” Without Reductions

The voters surveyed reject calls for cuts to the penalty-free “retirement at 63” program . More than nine in ten respondents (93 percent) support allowing employees to retire without penalties after 45 years of work.

Retirement Age

Employees’ preferences and the realities of the workplace do not align with the debates surrounding an ever-rising retirement age: When asked about their preferred retirement age, 11 percent want to retire before age 60, 51 percent between ages 60 and 63, and 27 percent between ages 64 and 67. Only three percent want to continue working at age 68 or older.

Fifty-three percent of respondents view the statutory retirement age of 67 as unrealistic. The lower the level of education—and thus career advancement—the more unattainable retirement at age 67 is seen to be.

Only 23 percent can imagine working beyond the age of 67. 75 percent of those surveyed consider working longer to be unrealistic.

Conclusion

Hans-Jürgen Urban, IG Metall board member responsible for social policy, commented on the survey results:

“People are rejecting the debate over ever-higher retirement ages. Raising the retirement age effectively only increases pension reductions for workers. Instead, we need retirement ages that reflect the realities of people’s work and lives. And we need employers who will finally create age-appropriate jobs. Workers want to see the statutory pension system strengthened. The statutory pension insurance pillar is the most important and reliable thing people have in their old age.”