Pensions increase by 3.74 percent in summer – that is in it for them

According to Social Minister Hubertus Heil, the legal pensions should increase by 3.74 percent on July 1. “The good wage development again leads to a pension adjustment that strengthens the purchasing power of the pensioners,” said the SPD politician in Berlin. “Stable pensions are not a luxury, but a question of performance justice for the people who have worked hard all their lives.” The “Süddeutsche Zeitung” also reported.

The pensions generally follow the development of wages and salaries of employees the year before. The mechanism is legally defined. For now until July 1, 2025, a minimum pension level of 48 percent is set – a “stop line”, as Heil called it. According to its ministry, the current pension value was set so highly on July 1, 2025 that this minimum level of 48 percent is achieved.

For a “standard pension”, an increase of 66.15 euros per month results from July. However, this is mainly a statistical calculation size. It refers to average earnings and 45 years of contributions. The situation is similar at the pension level: the relationship between standard pension and average income is meant. What you actually get in pension depends on the individual income and the duration of employment.

“Despite all the crises, the labor market remained stable last year, and there have been decent wages,” said the minister of the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. “The pensioners deserve that.”

Heil is a member of the SPD’s exploratory team, which leads preliminary talks about a possible black and red coalition with the Union. The pension must also be discussed there, said the Minister of Social Affairs. “I took the CDU election program that it is a common concern to properly secure people after life full of work in old age.”

The SPD demands that the pension level continue to be set by law at 48 percent. This could result in an increase in the pension contribution of currently 18.6 percent in the medium term. The Union, on the other hand, advocates that the social contributions as a whole do not increase and rather press. They are currently around 42 percent for pension, health, care and unemployment insurance. The Union wants to bring it back to 40 percent.

In conversation with the newspaper, Heil praised the agreements with the Union to finance infrastructure. “With the special fund infrastructure, we can support the expansion of all -day care, all -day schools and daycare centers,” said Heil.

Regarding the talks with the Union, Heil said that there was still a lot of work in front of the exploratory teams: “We have to sort immigration and migration reasonably, modernize the country, reduce bureaucracy, become faster and digital.” Money alone is not enough, you also have to change structures. “This will still be hard negotiations”. But he advertises that it succeeds.