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Leading economist calls for pensions at 70

As Germany’s two major political parties slug it out over a hike in the pension age to 67, a leading economic institute has poured petrol on the debate by predicting the age will have to rise to 70.

Published: 11 August 2010 09:07 CEST

Leading economist calls for pensions at 70

Photo: DPA

Michael Hüther, director of the Cologne Institute for Economic Research, told daily Rheinische Post’s Wednesday edition that “if we have a look at the higher life expectancy and the falling birthrate in Germany, the pension at 70 has to come into perspective.”

The institute is considered to be aligned with employers, suggesting the business community could be embarking on a campaign to raise the retirement age further, even as a political battle has erupted over the existing plan to raise it from 65 to 67.

Recently, the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) have called for the planned hike in the statutory retirement age to be put on hold to prevent “pension cuts.”

This is despite the fact that the SPD helped engineer the rise from 65 to 67 under the former “grand coalition” government in 2006.

SPD head Sigmar Gabriel has warned that raising the pension age without increasing the employment quota for people aged more than 60 would be “tantamount to a pension cut.”

He pointed out that when the law was passed it allowed for a review of the measure based on current job market statistics. He has demanded more flexibility for retirees to “fade-out” of their working life.

His remarks have been fiercely rejected by the ruling centre-right coalition of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats and the pro-business Free Democrats.

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Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions.

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds.

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local.

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with.

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