November 2019

27Nov

Germany Upper House Considers Bill to Introduce Tax Allowance for Occupational Pensions

The German upper house of Parliament (Bundesrat) Nov. 21 accepted for consideration a bill to introduce a tax allowance for the promotion of occupational pensions. Read also Puerto Rico Retirement Plans Will See Tax Provisions Reinstated The bill includes measures to: 1) apply a maximum allowance of 159 euros (US$175) of monthly pension payments and one-off capital disbursements; Read also Australia. Super tax breaks outweigh pension payments 2) allow beneficiaries whose pension began before 2020 or whose capital payment was less...

November 27, 2019
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21Nov

Why taxes on pensioners in Germany have risen up to 500 percent since 2010

The tax burden on pensioners has increased fivefold within ten years in some cases, according to figures released by the Finance Ministry on Wednesday. For example, new pensioners now have to pay €430 in income tax per year on a monthly gross pension of €1500, compared with €79 in 2010. The figures were released on Wednesday, as part of an inquiry submitted to the Federal Ministry of Finance by Die Linke. For an individual with a monthly gross...

November 21, 2019
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12Nov

Germany. Government agrees on basic pension

Berlin (dpa) - German Labour Minister Hubertus Heil on Monday praised a compromise deal struck by the country's ruling coalition on a new basic pension, saying that it is a good solution. Read also German coalition parties avert government crisis with pension deal "We have a basic pension that is worthy of its name," he told the broadcaster ARD. Heil said that he had been particularly focused on not deterring needy people and on avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy. Read also Switzerland....

November 12, 2019
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11Nov

German coalition parties avert government crisis with pension deal

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) on Sunday broke a deadlock over a higher basic pension for low-income workers, an impasse which had threatened the future of their governing coalition. Senior coalition members, including Merkel and SPD Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, sealed the compromise deal during talks in the chancellery that lasted more than six hours. The package also includes lower contributions to the public unemployment insurance scheme and the creation of an investment...

November 11, 2019
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October 2019

25Oct

Germany: Age Limits For Occupational Pensions Not Discriminatory Against Women

The Federal Constitutional Court clarified that maximum age limits for occupational pension benefits do not violate the general principle of equality. This confirms the jurisdiction of the Federal Labor Court, according to which maximum age limits for occupational pension schemes do not constitute age discrimination or even discrimination against women. Federal Constitutional Court, Non-acceptance order July 23, 2019 – Case 1 BvR 684/14 The complainant had initially retired from gainful employment due to the birth of her child and...

October 25, 2019
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23Oct

German Bundesbank recommends raising retirement age to 69

Imagine working until at least the age of 69 - that’s what the experts at the Bundesbank in Germany are recommending. They argue that such a change is necessary; otherwise pension payments will fall too low in the face of rising life expectancies. Demographic change puts pressure on German pension system Discussing the prospect of a future reform of the pension system in Germany, the Bundesbank has proposed a long-term increase in the retirement age to 69 years...

October 23, 2019
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September 2019
20Sep

Old-Age Poverty: The Household Perspective; A Microsimulation Approach of Pension Entitlements in Germany

By Sebastian Finkler Providing a decent living standard and preventing old-age poverty are the two major challenges of pension insurance schemes. Replacement rates below the poverty line despite many years of contribution represent a major challenge for public pension schemes with respect to the systems 'raison d’être'. The focus of the present paper turns away from individual perspective and considers household retirement incomes in the light of analysing old-age poverty and designing (minimum) pension policies. Using household survey and...

September 20, 2019
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19Sep

German women pensioners receive 26% less than men

A study published on Tuesday showed that female pensioners in Germany receive on average 26% less in pension payments than men. The gender pension gap means that retired women receive an average of €140 less per month than men. The study estimates that this means that when entering retirement, the average German woman would need around an extra €25,000 ($27,500) in savings in order to close the gap for their retirement. The research was carried out at the University...

September 19, 2019
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August 2019

28Aug

Berlin-based mobile savings platform Raisin to acquire pension fintech Fairr

Raisin, the Germany-based savings and investment platform, said it acquired Fairr, a fintech also located there that specializes in pensions and retirement savings. Raisin officials said the acquisition will help its 200,000 customers gain access to fixed-term, overnight and ETF accounts, as well as specialized pension plans. Read also How Fintech Can Make Banking More Inclusive – and Empowering The German pension market is estimated to be more than $13.3 trillion (12 trillion euro) and Raisin said the...

August 28, 2019
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16Aug

Workplace Pensions In Germany: What You Need To Know

In Germany, paying contributions to the statutory (state) social security pension is compulsory for most employees and their employers. In addition many companies, in particular large and international enterprises, choose to offer employer-financed (second tier) workplace pension schemes to help attract and retain staff. Workplace pension arrangements may be set up using one of five different pension vehicles. Details of each type of vehicle are set out in this note. Since 2002, employers must enable their staff to make employee contributions to...

August 16, 2019
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