Overview

• In 2024, 937,000 people began drawing old-age pensions, and only about 378,000 had reached the roughly 66-year statutory age at entry.
• About 559,000 opted for early retirement, and roughly 225,200 long-term insured accepted permanent pension deductions to retire sooner.
• An additional 64,900 severely disabled people moved into old-age pensions under special provisions with or without deductions.
• DRV data show an average monthly pension of €1,154 in 2024, with a marked gender gap of about €1,405 for men versus €955 for women.
• Pension finances were near balance at €402.0 billion in revenues against €402.8 billion in spending, as economists caution contribution rates may need to rise toward 20% around 2028 without broader reforms.