Overview

• The Bas–Klingbeil package targets low- and middle-income workers and smaller firms to reverse declining workplace-pension coverage.
• The draft expands the social-partner model so companies can join collective schemes across sectors and introduces easier opt-out auto-enrolment.
• Rules for pension funds would be made more flexible to allow higher risk and returns, alongside increased tax relief costing about €155 million per year.
• Employers’ subsidies for low earners in classic schemes would rise to up to €100 a month, with the income threshold linked to the pension contribution ceiling.
• Officials cite coverage at 18.1 million employees, roughly 52 percent at end-2023, while left-wing lawmakers call the plan insufficient and expert bodies urge broader structural reforms.