German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the co-leaders of a 13-member pension reform commission Constanze Janda and Frank-Jürgen Weise and German Minister for Labour and Social Affairs Bärbel Bas pose with the commission's recommendations during a press conference at the Chancellery in Berlin on June 23, 2026.Tobias Schwarz/AFP via Getty Images

German coalition leaders pledge rapid pension reform overhaul – POLITICO

by · POLITICO

BERLIN — Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowed on Tuesday to persuade his ideologically divided coalition to overhaul Germany’s pension system in the second half of the year.

“We need to move quickly, because the problems we face cannot be put off,” Merz told reporters in Berlin after an expert commission of academics and lawmakers presented 33 recommendations to reform Germany’s pension system, which has come under growing strain as the baby boomer generation retires.

“We’re actually already very late. We should have done all of this many, many years ago ... I want us to get this moving very quickly now and to make the decisions necessary to implement this reform in the second half of the year,” Merz added.