From July, retirees in Germany will receive more money each month as part of their statutory pension payment. Here’s what you need to know:

Average German pensioner will receive 66 euros more

Germany’s Federal Ministry of Social Affairs has announced that statutory pension payments will increase by 3,74 percent from July 1, 2025 in both western and eastern federal states.

According to figures from July 2024, the current average pension payment in Germany before tax and social security contributions, is 1.769,40 euros per month. 

This means that a German pensioner who earned the average wage and contributed to a statutory pension fund for 45 years will receive an extra 66 euros before tax in pension payments each month.

The existing pension level (Rentenniveau) of 48 percent will also remain unchanged until July 1, 2025. The Rentenniveau is the percentage of the average German wage that a pensioner who has paid into their pension fund for 45 years receives when they retire.

Outgoing Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs Hubertus Heil (SPD) assured that the new Rentenniveau adopted after July 1 will be at least 48 percent. "Last year, the labour market remained stable despite all the crises and there were decent wage settlements," Heil told Süddeutsche Zeitung, “Pensioners have earned this."

3,2 million over-65s at risk of poverty in Germany

Despite Heil’s reassurance, many pensioners in Germany will still be scraping by. Since the 66 euro extra is based on standard contributions over 45 years by someone with the average German salary, many retirees will receive less.

In January 2025, the European Union’s statistical office, Eurostat, revealed that 3,2 million people aged over 65 in Germany receive less than 60 percent of the national average wage as their pension payment each month.

60 percent of the national average wage works out at around 1.310 euros per month for single people and 2.751 for a couple with two children. Eurostat considers this group of 3,2 million people “at risk of falling into poverty” as a result of small pension packets.

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