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Labour Ministry defends raising retirement to 67

Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday defended the controversial decision to increase Germany's retirement age from 65 to 67 staring in 2012, saying the country had no alternative as society continued to age rapidly.

Labour Ministry defends raising retirement to 67
Photo: DPA

Presenting a report on pensions to her cabinet colleagues, von der Leyen dismissed criticism from the opposition, trade unions and social organisations and said delaying retirement was “necessary and justifiable.”

Without it the country would be forced to cut pensions or drastically increase employee contributions, both of which would be unfair, she said. The minister also pointed to the fact that more Germans were living longer, healthier lives.

The new retirement age will begin for those who were born in 1964, or people who are currently 46-years-old.

Only about half of Germans older than 55 still work, but von der Leyen said that was also changing.

“There are not yet very many, but there will be more,” the conservative Christian Democrat said, referring to labour market statistics showing the number of workers between 55 and 65 jumping by more than one million between 2005 and 2009.

But social policy advocacy association VdK argued that increasing the retirement age was unrealistic.

“Anyone unemployed beyond 50 has hardly a chance at finding a new job,” VdK leader Ulrike Mascher told news agency DAPD. “Ageism still rules in human resources for most sectors.”

Labour market researchers said on Wednesday that they expect job prospects for older applicants to improve significantly in the coming year, though.

Workers older than 60 are likely to be employed long-term at a rate of up to 50 percent, according to Institute for Employment Research (IAB) expert Martin Dietz in an interview with daily Financial Times Deutschland.

Researchers from the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW) also told the paper they expect “massive employment development” that will eventually approach the average employment rates of other age groups.

Reasons behind the improvements for workers of a certain age lie in the demographic constraints that will shrink the number of young people entering the job market, in addition to a change in policy against early retirement.

“The significant increase in work since 2005 shows that the difficulties of older workers in the job market has less to do with biological reasons and much more with wrongheaded institutional policies,” said Hilmar Schneider, director of labour market policy research at the Institute for the Study of Labour (IZA).

Until 2005 the state helped companies “buy out job protection from older workers,” he said.

DAPD/ka

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WORKING IN GERMANY

Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Bavaria is no doubt a beautiful state with a strong economy, but can be a hard place for non-German speakers to integrate. The Local takes a look at job opportunities in Germany’s southeastern 'Free State.'

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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