BERLIN — Germany's governing coalition pulled back from the brink on Friday, announcing a pension compromise after a week in which both partners had threatened to walk away.
Under the agreement, the statutory retirement age will rise by two months a year beginning in 2029, reaching 68 in 2041. In exchange, the minimum pension for workers with at least 35 years of contributions will rise by 12 percent.
Each side presented the deal as its own. The chancellery emphasized the long-term savings; the junior partner emphasized the floor for low earners.
Economists were less enthusiastic. “The higher minimum pension eats most of the saving from the later retirement age in the first fifteen years,” said Prof. Dagmar Reinholt of the Kiel Institute. “It buys time. It does not solve the problem.”
The bill is expected to reach the Bundestag before the winter recess.
A version of this article appears in print on Oct. 11, 2026, Section A, Page 2 of the European edition with the headline: Berlin Coalition Finds Compromise on Pension Reform After Week of Threats.
