Pension Reform 2026: Marcel Fratzscher on the limits of the pension package
With Chat Club Aktuell, the London Speaker Bureau regularly takes up current topics from politics, business, and society, and puts them into context together with renowned experts.
The 2026 pension reform is one of the German government’s most important economic and social policy initiatives. But are the Pension Commission’s proposals sufficient to stabilise the German pension system in the long term?
In conversation with Roland Vestring, Prof. Dr Marcel Fratzscher, President of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), assesses the reform plans and explains why, in his view, the package provides important impetus but does not resolve the fundamental challenges.
Find out more in the interview
Among other things, Marcel Fratzscher explains:
• why the pension package does not represent a fundamental change to the system,
• why abolishing retirement at 63 would be a key reform,
• what role a funded share-based pension could play in future,
• why raising the retirement age would have only a limited effect in the short term,
• how pension levels are likely to develop,
• and what further changes can be expected in the legislative process.
Why this issue affects businesses
The future of the state pension affects far more than just retirement provision. It has implications for the labour market, the financing of social security and Germany’s competitiveness as a business location. It is therefore important for businesses and decision-makers to understand which reforms are sustainable in the long term and what economic consequences political decisions may have.