Overview

• In a study for F.A.Z., Institut für Demoskopie Allensbach re-presented Herzog’s 1997 statements without attribution and found 2025 responses closely mirror the originals.
• 84% expect the retirement age to rise and 78% foresee lower future pensions, with majorities also anticipating declines in healthcare quality and reduced state services.
• Only 18% support working more and longer, while 63% explicitly reject it, highlighting resistance to extending working life.
• No proposed trade-offs attract broad acceptance, with at most 33% deeming cuts in some state services such as culture acceptable.
• Long-term trends show a shift toward security and away from effort: just 36% now view life as a task requiring commitment, 75% prefer modest secure prosperity over risk, and pessimism about the country’s future has grown.