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Where Germany's pension stands among its neighbors
Written by
Janine El-Saghir
Janine El Saghir is an editor at How-to-Germany.com, where she specializes in the practical aspects of daily life and integration for expatriates. With years of...
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Erkan Boga is the founder and CEO of qmedia GmbH, the publishing house behind How-to-Germany.com. He established the platform with the clear vision of creating...
- Germany pays less than most neighbors. An average earner starting work today can expect a net pension of about 53% of earlier pay, against an OECD average of about 63%.
- The age is similar: 67 in Germany. France is lower, while the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden and Denmark tie the age to life expectancy.
- Your years travel: inside the EU, periods in each country are added up and every country pays its own share.
Comparing pensions across Europe matters most to people who have worked in more than one country, or who wonder whether to retire somewhere else. The OECD’s Pensions at a Glance compares what mandatory systems pay to someone starting work today, and Germany sits below the OECD average. That is the main reason German retirement planning leans on private saving: the private pension guide covers the options, and the broker comparison shows where to start an ETF savings plan.
Pension systems in Europe compared
| Country | Retirement age today | Retirement age for today’s new workers | Net replacement rate, average earner | Contribution rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 66.2 | 67 | 53.3% | 18.6% |
| France | 64.3 | 65 | 70.0% | 27.8% |
| Netherlands | 67 | 70 | 96.0% | 22.0% |
| Austria | 65 (women 60.5) | 65 | 86.8% | 22.8% |
| Italy | 64.8 (women 63.8)* | 70 | 79.0% | 33.0% |
| Spain | 65 | 65 | 86.3% | 28.3%** |
| Sweden | 66 | 70 | 66.3% | 22.3% |
| Denmark | 67 | 74*** | 77.1% | 12.7% |
| Poland | 65 (women 60) | 65 (women 60) | 40.6% (women 31.8%) | 19.52% |
| United Kingdom | 66 | 68 | 54.2% | 26.6%** |
| OECD average | 64.7 (women 63.9) | 66.4 (women 65.9) | 63.2% | 18.8% |
| Source: OECD, Pensions at a Glance 2025 (rules legislated by September 2025). Ages for men retiring in 2024 after a full career from 22, and for someone entering work at 22 in 2024. Net replacement rate from mandatory and quasi-mandatory schemes for an average earner. Effective contribution rate 2024. * Italy: age after a full career, the statutory age is 67. ** Covers other social insurance as well. *** OECD projection, legislated so far is 70 from 2040. Retrieved 8 November 2026. | ||||
The replacement rate is the share of your previous net pay that the pension replaces. It is the best single number for comparing systems, but it hides the structure. In the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and the UK a quasi-mandatory occupational pension is counted. Germany has no such system, its occupational pensions are voluntary. The OECD names the German sustainability factor as the reason for the relatively low German figure: it slows pension growth when the number of pensioners rises faster than the number of contributors.
Country by country
France. The 2023 reform that raised the legal age to 64 is suspended until 2028. From 1 September 2026, people born from 1964 to 1968 can retire between 62 years and 9 months and 63 years and 9 months, depending on their year of birth. The age of 64 now applies only to those born from 1969. The OECD table does not yet include this change.
Netherlands. A flat basic pension from the state (AOW) plus quasi-mandatory occupational pensions produce one of the highest replacement rates in the OECD. The AOW age is 67 in 2027 and 67 years and 3 months from 2028, set five years in advance and linked to life expectancy.
Austria. An earnings-related public pension with a high replacement rate and a contribution rate above Germany’s. The women’s retirement age is rising by six months a year from 60 to 65, reaching 65 in 2033.
Italy. The highest contribution rate in the OECD funds a notional account system, in which contributions are booked to a personal account but paid out to today’s pensioners. The old-age pension age of 67 rises to 67 years and 1 month in 2027 and 67 years and 3 months in 2028, with at least 20 years of contributions.
Sweden and Poland. Both run notional account systems. Sweden adds a funded premium pension and a guarantee pension for low incomes, while Poland’s replacement rate is among the lowest in the table, and lower still for women, who can retire at 60.
Denmark. A residence-based basic pension, the funded ATP scheme and occupational pensions. The pension age rises step by step: 68 from 2030, 69 from 2035 and 70 from 2040, as passed by parliament.
Spain. Among the most generous systems for a full career, with a contribution that also pays for other social insurance.
If you have worked in several EU countries
There is no European pension. Each country pays its own pension for the years you spent there, under its own rules and from its own retirement age. EU law makes sure the years count together for each country’s minimum, and you file one claim in the country where you live, which passes it on to the others. Living in another EU country, you usually receive your German pension in full. The details, and the countries outside the EU with similar agreements, are on social security agreements.
Bottom line
Germany’s state pension is average in age and below average in level. If you have years in several countries, ask each one for a statement, and plan private savings for the gap rather than counting on a move to a more generous system.
Part of the German pension system. Related: Germany vs. the UK · Germany vs. the US · history of the German pension.
Frequently Asked Questions
Because the OECD counts the quasi-mandatory occupational pensions that Dutch employees build on top of the flat state pension. In Germany the occupational pension is voluntary and is not included in the German figure.
The OECD shows the age at which someone who started work at 22 can first retire without a penalty, which for Italy is below the statutory age because a full contribution record allows earlier retirement. The statutory old-age pension age is 67.
Until 2031 the law keeps the standard pension at 48% of average earnings. The federal government’s own projection expects the level to fall after that, to about 46% by 2039, unless the law changes again.
Sources (as of 8 November 2026)
Sources (as of 8 November 2026)
- OECD, Pensions at a Glance 2025: Tables 3.1, 3.5, 3.6, 4.4, 8.1; OECD, Pensions at a Glance 2025 country notes for Germany and Italy.
- France: Service Public, suspension of the 2023 pension reform; Info Retraite, legal retirement age (both in French).
- Netherlands: Rijksoverheid, AOW-leeftijd (in Dutch); SVB, AOW pension age.
- Austria: oesterreich.gv.at and the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, retirement ages for women.
- Italy: INPS, old-age pension and Circolare no. 28 of 16 March 2026.
- Denmark: Danish Agency for Labor Market and Recruitment (STAR), pension age now and in the future; Ministry of Employment, press release on the pension age of 70 from 2040 (both in Danish).
- Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, pension insurance report 2025: projected pension level until 2039 (in German); Deutsche Rentenversicherung, International: EU coordination.
The OECD figures describe the rules as legislated by September 2025. Reforms decided later are described from the national sources.