Germany seeks to expand occupational pension coverage

German employers and unions are entering a final round of negotiations regarding occupational pension schemes (bAV). A social partner dialogue is scheduled to begin in early October at the Ministry of Labour in Berlin, aiming to increase the number of employees covered by these schemes.

Currently, only about 52 percent of employees in Germany—approximately 20 million people—have an occupational pension. While these schemes are common in large, unionized companies, small and micro-enterprises often lack simple, actionable options due to complex administrative requirements.

Moritz Schumann, Deputy Managing Director of the German Insurance Association (GDV), stated that the industry aims to make occupational pensions accessible even for very small businesses, colloquially described as being available ‘for every snack bar’. The insurance sector is proposing standardized models to reduce the administrative burden on smaller firms.