Germany Backs Raising Retirement Age Beyond 67 Years

Germany will raise its retirement age gradually beyond 67, abolish early retirement and expand compulsory pension contributions under a set of new recommendations backed by Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday.

Germany, like many industrialised economies, is struggling with an ageing population and last year appointed



an expert commission to come up with suggested reforms to its pension system.

Around 19 million people in Germany were aged 65 or older -- about 23 percent of the total population -- in 2024, the latest year for which statistics are available. In 1991, only 15 percent of the population was aged over 65.