German pension reform 2026: what is planned for retiring at 63
Status 15 October 2026: there are commission recommendations and a coalition that wants to act on them, but no law and no published draft bill.
Worked through by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
What the proposal would change for your birth year
Unreduced today from
1 July 2033
| Under the proposal unreduced from | 1 July 2035 |
| Earliest today | 1 July 2031 (−14.4 %) |
| Earliest under the proposal | 1 July 2032 (−10.8 %) |
Scenario without transitional rules. Not law, no published draft.
Germany’s pension commission (Alterssicherungskommission) presented its report with 33 recommendations on 23 June 2026. The most important for when you can retire: the pension for especially long-term insured persons, the unreduced pension after 45 years, should be abolished as early as possible with protection of legitimate expectations (Vertrauensschutz). The pension for long-term insured persons after 35 years should start from 64 instead of 63, then move with the standard retirement age so the window stays three years wide. The standard age should be linked to life expectancy from 2031, reaching about 67.5 by 2041. On 2 July 2026 the coalition committee said it wants to implement all the recommendations, aiming for a law by the end of 2026. As of 15 October 2026 no draft bill has been published. Current law applies, and it is the law on the day your pension starts that counts. For the 1964 cohort with 45 years, the proposal without transitional rules would mean an unreduced start only from 1 July 2031 instead of 1 July 2029.
Status: 15 October 2026. This page will be updated once a draft bill is published. Everything marked “proposal” is a commission recommendation, not law in force.
What has happened so far
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 23 June 2026 | The pension commission presents its report with 33 recommendations (BMAS). |
| 2 July 2026 | The coalition committee says it wants to implement all 33 recommendations, aiming for a law by the end of 2026 (Federal Government). |
| August 2026 | The Deutsche Rentenversicherung states that there are no statutory values yet and only current law is applied (DRV). |
| 15 October 2026 | No draft bill published. |
The proposals on when you can retire
| Topic | Current law | Commission proposal |
|---|---|---|
| Pension after 45 years | unreduced, at 65 from the 1964 cohort (section 38 SGB VI) | abolish as early as possible, with protection of expectations |
| Pension after 35 years | from 63 with 0.3 % reduction per month (section 36 SGB VI) | from 64, then moving with the standard age, three-year window |
| Standard age | 67 from the 1964 cohort | linked to life expectancy from 2031 (2:1), about 67.5 by 2041 |
| Reductions and increases | 0.3 % and 0.5 % per month (section 77 SGB VI) | review regularly |
| Protective pension (Schutzrente) | does not exist | if a long-held occupation becomes impossible for health reasons: two years before the standard age unreduced, up to three years earlier with a reduction, 35 years required |
| Partial retirement (Altersteilzeit) | from 55, block model allowed | from 58, no block model |
For your retirement date the first two rows are what matter. What Germans call “Rente mit 63” is really two pensions: the unreduced one after 45 years, whose age is already 65 from the 1964 cohort, and the 35-year pension, possible from 63 with a reduction. The first would disappear, the second would start a year later. How both work today is explained on retiring at 63.
What the proposal would mean for cohorts from 1964
The table below runs both cases through this site’s engine: current law on the left, the proposal scenario on the right. The scenario has no transitional rule and no protection of expectations, and it leaves out the link between the standard age and life expectancy, because no values per birth year exist for it. It therefore shows the largest possible effect of the two proposals on early retirement, not what a law will eventually say. Birthday on 15 June in each case.
| Born | Unreduced with 45 years, current law | Proposal | Earliest with 35 years, current law | Proposal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | 1 July 2029 | 1 July 2031 | 1 July 2027 (−14.4 %) | 1 July 2028 (−10.8 %) |
| 1965 | 1 July 2030 | 1 July 2032 | 1 July 2028 (−14.4 %) | 1 July 2029 (−10.8 %) |
| 1966 | 1 July 2031 | 1 July 2033 | 1 July 2029 (−14.4 %) | 1 July 2030 (−10.8 %) |
| 1968 | 1 July 2033 | 1 July 2035 | 1 July 2031 (−14.4 %) | 1 July 2032 (−10.8 %) |
| 1970 | 1 July 2035 | 1 July 2037 | 1 July 2033 (−14.4 %) | 1 July 2034 (−10.8 %) |
| 1975 | 1 July 2040 | 1 July 2042 | 1 July 2038 (−14.4 %) | 1 July 2039 (−10.8 %) |
Two effects stand out. With 45 years, and without the special pension, you would have to wait until the standard age to retire unreduced: from the 1964 cohort that is 2 years later than today. With 35 years, the earliest start would be a year later but carry a smaller reduction: 10.8 % instead of 14.4 %. On a €1,500 pension that is €162 instead of €216 less a month, because the window before the standard age would be only three years wide. The comparison above works this out for your birth year and whether you reach 45 years.
What the pension insurance says
In August 2026 the Deutsche Rentenversicherung made its position clear (DRV guidance on the reform): there are no statutory values yet, it applies only current law, and the law at the time your pension starts is decisive. You can apply at most one year before the start. That answers the question many people are asking: a quick application does not secure the old rules. If you want to retire at 63 in 2027, you can apply in 2026 at the earliest; if a new law takes effect before your pension starts, that law applies, with whatever transitional rules it contains. When a pension starts under current law is set by section 99 SGB VI.
Retiring at 63 for your birth year
Reduction at 63 (35 years)
14.4 %
| Start at 63 (born in June) | 1 July 2027 |
| Months to standard age | 48 |
| Standard age | 67 years |
Retiring at 63 with no reduction was only possible for people born before 1953 with 45 years.
What makes sense now, and what does not
It makes sense to complete your insurance record. Whether you reach 35 or 45 years does not depend on the reform, and if you know your periods you can apply any future bill to yourself straight away. Periods in other EU countries count towards the qualifying years as before, so make sure they are recorded too. It also makes sense to run both scenarios: the date under current law with the retirement date calculator and the date under the proposal with the comparison on this page. If you face a decision anyway, such as a termination agreement, know both cases; see unemployed before retirement.
It makes no sense to react to rumours about protected birth years or cut-off dates. Nothing on this has been published, and nobody knows what a law will say before a draft exists. This page therefore names no birth years that might be protected and calculates only the scenario without transition. For advice on your own case, contact the information and advice centres of the Deutsche Rentenversicherung; this site is independent.
The other recommendations in brief
Beyond the age limits, the recommendations cover the pension level, partial retirement and funding. The 48 % floor should stay until 2031, after which the sustainability factor would apply again. Partial retirement would be possible only from 58 instead of 55, and the block model, full-time work followed by full release, would end. A statutory funded pension would be built up with an additional contribution of 2 %. For people who after many years can no longer work in their occupation for health reasons, the commission proposes the protective pension. What becomes law, when and in what form, is open.
The standard age itself would also move: from 2031 it would be linked to changes in life expectancy at a 2:1 ratio. By 2041 the commission puts that at about 67.5 years. What a later start already brings today is on retiring later.