Germany: DGB union federation calls on government to stop retirement at 67

Low activity rate for seniors.  The figure battle between those who follow and those who reject retirement at 67, to be enforced in 2029, is already in full swing in Germany.  Barely ten days after the publication of two rather optimistic reports on the increase in retirement age, one commissioned by the government and the other by the Gesamtmetall employers’ organization (see our dispatch No. 100638), the DGB also presented a report with a completely different evaluation of seniors’ situation on the labor market and of their prospects.  This is the fourth report of the “network for fair pensions” made up of DGB representatives and the key social and charity organizations in the country.  “We established this network in 1997, after the government adopted retirement at 67, to determine on a scientific basis whether or not this decision was defendable” said Annelie Buntenbach, member of the DGB’s board, adding that the results spoke for themselves.  Thus, only 9.2% of employees aged 63 still work full time, and only 6.3% for 64-year-olds.  These figures are very different depending on the activities.  Thus, in the provision of health services, the proportion of employees aged 60-65 still working is only 2.6%.  For painters and varnishers, they represent 2.9%.  Asked by Planet Labor about the origin of the differences in the figures presented by the employers and the DGB, Ernst Kistler, director of the International Institute for Empirical Social Economics (INIFES) and co-author of the report, confirmed the undeniable increase in seniors’ activity rates, pointed to by Gesamtmetall.  However, according to him, the figures given by metal employers give a fake idea of truth, because they include all active seniors, even employees who only work one hour a week or self-employed workers.