Strengthening Germany’s Pension System Through Capital Markets Reform

Stephan Leithner commented on this as follows:

"Yesterday's decisions by the German cabinet on pension reform set the right course, with crucial steps toward a more generationally fair, future-proof, and sustainable private pension system leveraging the potential of the capital market in Germany. We at Deutsche Börse Group welcome the momentum – and are dedicated to contributing to this transition as engineers of the capital markets with our innovative, reliable, and efficient infrastructures.

In the first half of 2026, the Pension Commission has a huge opportunity to create a comprehensive and impactful reform that strengthens our generational contract, economic growth, and fiscal sustainability. A complete solution must further integrate the potential of capital markets across all three pillars: statutory pensions, occupational retirement provisions, and private pensions. Setting a high bar for best solutions should include:

• The “Frühstartrente” is a good starting point and encourages early financial education. However, starting only with the cohort of 6-year-olds is not ambitious enough to solve the underlying challenge. We should extend this to all newborns, transforming the system over the long term. Using dividends from federal shareholdings to finance further cohorts is a good approach. A target of €4,000 in start-up capital for newborns should remain the anchor point to fundamentally transform the first pillar of the German pensions system.
• With regards to the second pillar, the already adopted Occupational Pension Strengthening Act (BRSG II) laid a solid foundation, such as higher tax allowances, improved support for low-income earners, and new product options. The successful German social partner model offers a good basis that must now be ambitiously pursued. Auto-enrolment combined with an opt-out solution as well as a strong buy-in to prioritize pension funding over short-term salary increases as done in Sweden are anchor points.
• The savings and investment account (“Altersvorsorgedepot”) is a milestone for private pension provision that incentivizes citizens to invest more in the capital markets, aligning with the objectives of EU Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union Maria Luís Albuquerque. Ensuring compatibility with EU blueprints is crucial to ensuring a seamless European capital market.

Let's use this momentum to take bolder steps – and build a stronger economic future for Germany and Europe together!"