Overview

• Since January 2023 Germany has lifted all earnings limits on statutory pensions, allowing retirees to collect full benefits while working without deductions
• Data from Deutsche Rentenversicherung show roughly 116,000 people used the new rule in 2023 to top up their income
• A 65-year-old educator reported net monthly earnings of €3,600 by combining a €1,600 pension with a €2,000 part-time salary
• The average age at first pension receipt rose by two years between birth cohorts of 1941 and 1955, reflecting recent increases in statutory retirement ages
• Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government plans a pension commission to deliver reform proposals by early 2026 and is weighing models that tie retirement age to life expectancy or set it at 70