The number of German baby boomers receiving pensions has risen to around 6 million, including 1.1 million who retired before reaching the statutory retirement age, according to a new study by the German Economic Institute (IW).

The employer-backed research institute said that the trend is likely to continue unless policymakers introduce reforms, adding to the pressure on the labour market as many employers struggle to fill vacant positions.

In total, Germany had 19.3 million baby boomers – people born during the country’s high birth-rate years after World War II – in 2024, according to the study, which was seen by dpa on Thursday.

The study’s authors said they expect that “the rising uptake of early retirement will continue.”

In 2023, around 4.5 million baby boomers were receiving pensions, including about 900,000 who had retired early.

The IW noted that Germany is gradually raising the statutory retirement age from 65 to 67 by 2031, with the aim of extending working lives. In 2024, the statutory retirement age rose to 66, 12 months higher than when the reform began in 2012.

However, the institute said the average effective retirement age increased by only eight months over the same period. The researchers attributed the gap to the continued availability of early retirement options.

“The widespread use of early retirement runs counter to the original policy objective of extending working lives by raising the statutory retirement age,” the report said.

The institute welcomed proposals by Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s pension commission, including plans to abolish options that allow for retiring early without pension reductions. It described the measure as “central to raising the average retirement age.”

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