Overview

• Germany’s Finance Ministry is preparing the Aktivrente draft for a 1 January 2026 start, designed to exempt up to €2,000 per month of employment income from tax for those at statutory pension age, with health and care contributions still due.
• CDU figures now tout an effective €3,000 per month or roughly €36,000 a year tax‑free by adding the basic allowance, while the ministry frames the €2,000 limit as applying only to earned income from work.
• Social groups and economists estimate annual state revenue losses of about €2.8–3 billion and question whether the measure will boost labor supply, arguing it chiefly helps healthier, better‑off retirees.
• A separate draft keeps the pension replacement level at 48% through 2031 and foresees raising the contribution rate to 18.8% in 2027, subject to Bundestag approval.
• From December 2025 the disability supplement is integrated into base pensions, with DRV resetting affected pensions as of 30 November 2025 and issuing new notices that carry a one‑month objection period.