The country set to raise its pension age to 70 - and whether the UK could learn from it

Working until 70 and losing the right to collect your pension early are among the changes Germany is considering as it tries to stop its retirement payment system becoming unaffordable.

An expert commission has recommended gradually raising the retirement age in line with life expectancy, tightening access to early retirement, and introducing compulsory retirement savings invested through a central fund.

The proposals are designed to reduce pressure on a system that relies heavily on today’s workers funding today’s pensioners.

Three families reflect on the early signs of the illness, which affected their parents.

They include the things they missed or dismissed, what they’d do differently and what they’d want other people in the same position to know.

One of the first incidents that rang alarm bells for Robert was his mum falling victim to a suspected scam from someone selling mattresses door-to-door. 

She also started to struggle with cooking and making her special dishes she’d been making for decades without a problem.

We [had] just sort of played along with everything. But on one particularly bad day, I blurted it out over the phone, ‘Because you’ve got dementia, mum!’ She threatened to kill herself, which was very scary. Maybe it’s something I should have explained properly to her from the get go…

I think we missed some of the really early subtle signs.

Rosie’s mother was diagnosed with Young Onset Alzheimer’s Disease at 58 but some symptoms, like brain fog, were put down to the menopause.

She had become more forgetful, and was repeating herself, but as she had always “been scatty” it was dismissed.

It was on strange things like going to the same buffet.

Chloe was just 14 when her mum, Sarah, was diagnosed with young onset frontotemporal dementia, a rare form of the disease.

Another time Sarah, who was diagnosed in her forties, forgot how to boil an egg.

On Saturdays, when she’d usually go shopping, she’d go out and come straight back home, almost like she forgetting
what she was going out for.

Writer Sadhbh O’Sullivan looked into her own forgotten subscriptions when she became a first-time buyer, and realised how much she was wasting on things she wasn’t using.

I’d long considered myself to be quite a reasonable spender. 

But the hidden costs across her bank accounts, like free trials that hadn’t been cancelled and memberships for abandoned services, proved otherwise.

It was full of small amounts, £2.99 here, £4.50 there. These small amounts added up.

According to a Nationwide survey almost one in five Brits don’t use every platform they pay for.

The bank suggests they could save as much as £400 a year by ditching them. 

National Trading Standards’ 2025 research found 4.7 million people were paying for subscriptions they didn’t know they’d signed up for.

In 2024, a government report found unused and unwanted subscriptions cost consumers up to £1.6bn a year.

Hunt them down

Banking apps usually list your ‘subscriptions’ separately from direct debits and standing orders so you can easily spot what you’re shelling out on.

Check everything

You can be debited through credit cards, E-payment services, your mobile phone bill, Apple Pay or Google Pay.

Don’t vow to use a subscription you’re not going to, even if you
have good intentions.

Many businesses have changed from monthly to annual payments so look further back.

Make sure to track any subscriptions you have kept so you can cancel them, if need be, in future.

But staff say many people treat their shops like a tip.

Here they share the most useful donations they get, and the
ones that drive them mad.

The quality of donations over the last year has diminished.

Claire Stockman, head of retail for St
Luke’s Hospice [pictured], says many donations include used items from fast fashion like Boohoo and Primark, which they cannot sell for more than £2, if at all.

of what comes into St Luke’s Hospice is unsellable, Stockman says.

She adds its soiled, damaged beyond
repair or smelly.

Harriet, a volunteer at Crisis in Dalston,
says people bring in clothes that are dirty and stained – things that they cannot sell
on Vinted.

She also sees dirty kitchenware and technology that no longer works.

There was a box donated after someone’s family had passed and in it were all these medals. I researched them and the whole collection ended up going for £2,340…

A good donation is anything new with tags on, anything that hasn’t been opened, or higher quality items.

Items that have been well looked after are more likely to sell and generate a better price for charity too.

Harriet adds that knick-knacks and wine glasses are surprise hits in her branch.

Here, psychologists, career consultants and sleep experts give their best advice on how
to beat the gloom that the
work week is looming…

Pave the way on Friday

Psychologist Maria-Teresa Daher-Cusack says to wrap up tasks and not to leave big or difficult things for Monday. And write a to-do list for the next week so you know what to expect when you return after the weekend.

Get outside early

Doctor Naheed Ali says getting out on a Sunday morning – not sleeping late – helps regulate the circadian rhythm that can become skewed over the weekend.

On Sunday spend time away from technology to allow yourself a personal reset away from doom scrolling.

Put yourself in the best position to rest by avoiding large meals, screens and caffeine.

If possible don’t stack your Mondays with high-pressure tasks.

Don’t just save joyful things for the weekend. On lunch breaks, try to do something you enjoy.

If the Sunday scaries are constant, listen to them. If every Sunday fills you with dread and nothing seems to quell it it’s worth asking if it’s the job, the culture or the career itself. No one should spend half their weekend bracing for impact… ” says Victoria McLean

But no country’s energy system is 100 per cent secure and large-scale blackouts, although rare, are possible.

Here’s how to prepare, and what could happen, if we do have a blackout.

If the UK’s power went down tomorrow, these are the ways it is likely to impact you first.

For EV owners that are already on the road, Professor Keith Bell, who works in electricity planning, recommends that those with an EV with reasonable charge use it as a generator, like your own store of electricity.

In the case of the power system going down, petrol isn’t a totally safe option as queues at petrol stations could be huge and places are likely to run out of fuel.

The longer the power takes to return the worse things are likely to get. In 2021 Storm Arwen physically damaged power lines across the UK.

During the 1977 New York blackout, which lasted 25 hours, there was civil unrest, resulting in widespread looting and arson, although intense heatwaves are thought to have exacerbated the situation.

To get updates during a power cut – a car radio can be used, but in severe weather it might be safer to stay inside.

A minimum of 2.5-3 litres of drinking water per person per day is recommended.

The Government recommends opting for torches over candles, for safety reasons.

Using screens in a way that benefits your child’s development is key and balancing educational content and entertainment with offline activities ensures a well-rounded routine.

For younger children, try scavenger hunts, garden games and nature walks. For older ones, hikes
and biking trips.

Designated screen-free times helps children develop a routine that balances screen use with other activities.

It’s an excellent way
to bond and develop critical thinking skills.

Getting creative, through drawing, painting or model construction, enhances cognitive skills and offers an alternative to screens.

Arrange playdates or group activities with friends, or for older kids try an overnight camping trip in the garden.

Showing that you value offline time encourages your children to do the same.

Implement a reward system where screen time is earned through positive behaviour. 

Discuss the importance of balancing screen time with your children so they understand the reasons behind the rules.

Some studies suggest so.

These are the eight brain-boosting foods registered dietitian Fareeha Jay
recommends people consume as part of a weekly diet…

They contain several nutrients thought to support brain health, including choline, vitamin B12 and iodine.

Caffeine can reduce inflammation and
slow the degeneration
of brain cells.

It’s packed with antioxidants and high in vitamin K, which is essentially for healthy brain cells.

Your brain uses Omega-3s to build brain and nerve cells – so a diet rich in them may slow age-related mental decline.

These improve heart health markers, which is linked to a lower risk of neurological disorders.

They contain compounds which have been shown to improve blood flow to the brain, cognitive function, and memory.

There’s this assumption about being put out to pasture… but now that we’re living and working longer, we have to challenge myths around ageing and remember that over-50s are a crucial part of the workforce…

Yet more than a third of those between 50 and 69 believe that their age puts them at a disadvantage when they apply for jobs. 

The Age Without Limits study from 2024 shows that 37 per cent of workers between 51 to 70 felt badly treated in work because of their age.

We need the same level of career planning in
our fifties as our twenties. It’s possible to reinvent yourself again.

It’s nonsense that older people can’t pick up how to use new tech.

Do you need a pay rise? Could you trade some of that money you earn, to work a bit less, and do more things you enjoy?

Become full-time childcare

Grandparenting on the horizon? If you don’t want to do childcare, have the conversation early – even before a child becomes pregnant – that you plan to continue working and love your job.

Accept redundancy too quickly

It’s going to be so much harder to get back into work if you don’t have a plan before you take that leap.

Everybody thinks early retirement is the dream but the reality can be different. There can be loneliness, lack of purpose and a sense of invisibility. 

The plans have drawn comparisons with Sweden, which combines a state pension with investment-based retirement saving, and have prompted debate over whether the UK could learn from a similar approach.

Here, The i Paper explains how Germany’s pension system works, what is changing, and how it compares with the UK.

Unlike the UK, Germany has long relied predominantly on its state pension to provide people’s retirement income.

Its statutory pension operates on a pay-as-you-go basis, meaning contributions from employees and employers are used to pay people who have already retired rather than being invested for the contributor’s own retirement. This is similar to the UK’s state pension.

The age you collect your pension is currently 66 years and two months for those born in 1959 – though you can retire from 63 – with your pension reducing by 3.6 per cent for every year early you retire.

The amount someone receives depends on how much they earned and contributed throughout their career.

Private and workplace pensions exist, but they have traditionally played a much smaller role than they do in the UK, where automatic enrolment has made investment-based workplace pensions a key part of retirement planning.

Germany’s approach has become harder to sustain as its population has aged. Fewer children are being born while life expectancy continues to rise, leaving fewer workers paying into the system and more pensioners drawing an income.

Stephen Barber, professor of global affairs at the University of East London, said Germany was facing “a problem common to economies across Europe and the industrialised world, that of an ageing population and with it increasing life expectancy”.

He said the proposals stood out because politicians were finally confronting an issue many governments have been reluctant to address.

“The plans are significant to the extent that they represent government facing up to a challenge where policy change is likely to be politically unpopular but where not taking action is only storing up problems, maybe even systemic collapse, in the future,” he explained.

At the heart of the reforms is a shift towards investment.

Rather than relying almost entirely on younger workers to fund today’s retirees, Germany wants employees and employers to make compulsory contributions into a centrally managed investment fund that would help pay for future pensions.

Rachel Vahey, head of public policy at AJ Bell, said Germany was adopting “a Swedish-style investment fund” alongside its existing pay-as-you-go model, allowing workers and employers to build retirement savings while keeping the state pension.

Working for longer is another major part of the package. Current rules allow some people who have contributed for 45 years to claim a pension from age 63. Those provisions would disappear under the recommendations, while future increases in the pension age would be linked to life expectancy.

The plans would see Germany raise its standard retirement age to about 70 by the early 2090s.

According to Vahey, restricting early access to pensions is another way of helping people maintain an adequate income in later life, with Germany choosing to make it “harder for people to retire early”.

Barber also stressed the reforms would not ban early retirement altogether, as people who had their own private savings would be able to do that.

The UK takes a different approach to its state pension, with a flat-rate payment based on national insurance contributions or credits instead of payments depending on career earnings.

Alongside that, most employees are automatically enrolled into a workplace pension, where contributions from workers and employers are invested throughout their careers.

Currently, the full new state pension, for those who hit state pension age after 2016 – is worth £241.30 per week – £12,547.6 per year.

And those on the basic rate – those who hit their state pension age in 2016 or earlier – get £184.90 per week – £9,614.8 per year. You can get more in certain circumstances.

Germany’s reforms would not replace its earnings-related state pension. Instead, they would add an investment element [to the funding of the pension], creating a system that shares features with both the UK’s workplace pensions and Sweden’s national model.

Carl Emmerson, partner at London Economics, said the changes would actually move Germany closer to the UK.

He pointed out that both countries already have similar normal retirement ages and expect those ages to rise further. As an example, the UK’s state pension age is rising to 67 between 2026 and 2028.

Germany, however, wants future increases to be linked directly to life expectancy rather than relying on periodic government reviews, as is the case in the UK.

Emmerson suggested the UK could learn from that approach.

He said: “Perhaps one lesson for the UK is that the current review should not just be thinking about whether or not the legislated increase from 67 to 68 should be brought forward, but also whether we should be legislating now for any subsequent rises.”

One notable difference that would remain is the fact that Germany currently allows some long-serving workers to receive their pension early, while “the UK has no provision for individuals to receive a state pension early”, he said.

Sweden’s pension system has become the main reference point for Germany’s reforms because it combines an earnings-related state pension with compulsory retirement savings invested over a worker’s lifetime.

That approach means future pensions are supported by investment returns as well as contributions from the current workforce.

Other countries have adopted similar principles. The Netherlands relies heavily on collectively invested workplace pensions, while Denmark combines a state pension with substantial funded occupational schemes.

Australia also requires employers to contribute into investment funds through its compulsory superannuation system.

The UK already shares some of the features Germany is trying to introduce.

It also does have plans to raise the state pension age. An increase in the state pension age to 68 is currently pencilled in for 2044-46, although a review will consider whether to change those dates.

But Vahey said the UK should not simply copy another country’s approach. The UK faces many of the same demographic pressures, with fewer younger workers supporting a growing retired population, but it starts from a different place because workplace pension saving is already well-established.

She said ministers could not “dodge this difficult topic for ever” as the state pension becomes an increasing pressure on the public finances.

Even so, her conclusion was clear: “No country should simply copy another’s pension system.

“The UK’s pensions landscape is different, with a well-established workplace and private pension system that has helped millions of people start saving through automatic enrolment.

“Any future changes should build on what’s already working in the UK, rather than trying to replicate another country’s approach.”