February 2026
26Feb

Germany’s retirement savings shake-up: What banks need to know

Germany is overhauling its state-subsidised retirement savings framework, and financial institutions have a firm deadline to prepare for. The federal government approved a pension reform law in late 2025, with parliamentary proceedings underway in 2026. If passed — which appears near-certain — the legislation will bring the Altersvorsorgedepot (AVD), or retirement provision depot, into force from 1 January 2027. From that date, no new contracts under the old Riester model will be permitted. fincite, which offers an end-to-end digital asset...

February 26, 2026
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25Feb

Revolutionary ‘Department of Future Aging’ transformed a German town for its elders

The world is getting older, and it’s getting older quickly. In 2019, there were approximately 700 million people aged 65 and older. The UN predicts that the number will more than double by 2050. In the U.S., the Census Bureau estimates that retirement-age residents will outnumber children for the first time in the nation’s history by the 2030s. Clearly, helping the aging population live their later years with as much comfort and dignity as possible is a growing concern. And one German town is...

February 25, 2026
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13Feb

Lufthansa Strike Puts Pension Dispute And Long Term Profitability In Focus

Find winning stocks in any market cycle. Join 7 million investors using Simply Wall St's investing ideas for FREE. Deutsche Lufthansa (XTRA:LHA) is facing a coordinated 24 hour strike by pilots and cabin crew. The walkout is set to affect departures across all German airports. The dispute centers on retirement and pension funding, with management citing limited financial flexibility. The action is expected to disrupt passenger travel and Lufthansa's near term operations. For you as an investor, this strike sits at...

February 13, 2026
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11Feb

Germany. Tens Of Thousands Of Passengers Set To Be Stranded As Lufthansa Pilots Announce Strike in Pension Dispute

Tens of thousands of passengers who are set to travel with German flag carrier Lufthansa this week could be left stranded after the airline’s pilots’ union announced a one-day strike that will take place on Thursday in a dispute over pensions. The Vereinigung Cockpit union announced that the strike will start at 12:01 am on February 12 and conclude at 11:59 pm after seven rounds of tense pension negotiations failed to resolve a deadlock. “We would have liked to avoid an...

February 11, 2026
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December 2025
18Dec

Germany. Bundestag Passes Second Act Strengthening Company Pensions

The aim of the BRSG II is the necessary expansion of company pension schemes in Germany and it contains important new regulations. The Act will come into force in several stages from 1 January 2026. The most important points are summarised here. Following lengthy deliberations, which were also delayed by the new Bundestag elections, the Bundestag passed the BRSG II on 5 December. In particular, the Act includes options for introducing opting-out systems at company level, higher settlement caps for...

December 18, 2025
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09Dec

Germany. Merz hopes to avoid German coalition crisis with vow to overhaul pensions

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday his coalition has agreed to carry out a comprehensive pension reform next year, a move aimed at easing concerns over an interim pensions bill that had threatened to destabilise his government. The youth wing of Merz's conservatives had said they would not back the new bill, which aims to maintain current pension levels in relation to incomes while incentivizing people to work longer, as it would leave younger Germans to bear the costs. Their...

December 9, 2025
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04Dec

The German far left grants last-minute approval to pension reform

The opposition party Die Linke announced on Wednesday that it would abstain from Friday's vote on pension reform, thus allowing Friedrich Merz's government to avoid a potentially destabilizing parliamentary defeat. This abstention effectively guarantees the passage of the highly contested bill and offers the chancellor a respite after several weeks of political tension. The bill aims to maintain current levels of state pensions until 2031, a measure presented as a key pillar of the coalition agreement between the conservative Merz...

December 4, 2025
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03Dec

‘Generation war’ dogs pension debates in France and Germany

A generational reckoning is brewing in Paris and Berlin, where a new wave of younger politicians is putting pensioners on notice: The system is buckling and can’t hold unless retirees do more to help fix it. Culture, language and local politics may add a distinct flavor to each debate, but the European Union’s two biggest economies are dealing with the same issue — how to pay for the soaring costs associated with the retirement of baby boomers. The problem is both...

December 3, 2025
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November 2025
28Nov

German government finds pension compromise to resolve showdown

Germany's coalition government has pledged to undertake far-reaching reforms of the country's pension system, while sticking to previously agreed pension levels, in a bid to resolve a rebellion within Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative ranks. The measures are outlined in a draft document seen by dpa on Friday, following late-night talks on Thursday between leading conservatives and their junior partner, the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD). Under the agreement, a pensions commission is to present proposals for a comprehensive reform by mid-2026. The commission...

November 28, 2025
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27Nov

Germany’s pension reform becomes a generational conflict

As in France, pensions have become a source of political instability in Germany. For several weeks, the future of the system has poisoned the atmosphere within the government led by conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz, in office since May 6. Returning from his international trips focused on Ukraine, Merz has had to confront internal rebellion, described as the coalition's most serious crisis yet. The young elected members of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), gathered in the Junge Union organization, have challenged...

November 27, 2025
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