FRANKFURT/ESCHBORN (dpa-AFX) – Deutsche Börse CEO Stephan Leithner is calling for an acceleration of fundamental pension reform in Germany. “We can no longer stand by while increasingly large sums, running into the billions, must be drawn from the federal budget to plug holes in the pension fund,” Leithner stated in an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur and the financial news agency dpa-AFX at the Dax-listed company’s headquarters in Eschborn.
It is clear, he noted, that the statutory pension will remain as one of the three pillars of retirement provision. “However, capital market-based occupational and private retirement schemes must play a significantly stronger role.”
“Pressure could not be greater”
The CEO praised the federal government for taking important steps that were “unthinkable until recently,” citing the “Early Start” pension and the planned retirement savings account – a state-standardized securities account. He expressed confidence that the pension commission would build on this to deliver the next major breakthrough. The pressure to reach a solution “could not be greater,” Leithner said. “This applies to Germany, but also at the European level.”
Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) had announced that the federal government intends to initiate a rebalancing of the three pillars – statutory, private, and occupational pensions – before the end of the year. By mid-year, the pension commission appointed by the Union and SPD is expected to present reform proposals.
“A 48 percent pension level is nowhere near enough”
In Leithner’s view, the ultimate goal must be a total pension level that is acceptable even for lower income brackets. “Given the cost of living, a pension level of 48 percent can only be described as socially unjust,” Leithner criticized. “It is nowhere near enough.” An overall level of up to 65 percent is likely necessary. “But that simply cannot be financed through the statutory pension insurance pillar alone.”
Last year, despite significant opposition, the federal government passed a pension package that fixed the “stop line” for the pension level at 48 percent until 2031. This figure represents the ratio of a standard pension to average earnings. Federal funds are used to adjust pensions annually so that the pre-tax security level does not fall below this line. In 2026 alone, more than 120 billion euros are expected to flow from the federal budget into the statutory pension insurance system.
Children’s accounts with a 4,000 euro lump sum from birth
Regarding the “Early Start” pension, where children from the age of six are to receive ten euros a month from the state for a securities account, Leithner advocates for a significant initial boost via a lump sum: “It would make sense to start the Early Start pension with 4,000 euros at a child’s birth, primarily due to the compound interest effect. In any case, it is important that the Early Start pension and the retirement savings account are integrated so that new accounts do not have to be opened later.”
Leithner also called for tax-free special contributions to be made possible for children’s accounts: “Let’s take an example from the USA: there, grandparents can make additional payments of up to 5,000 euros into the account. It is a completely simple and effective concept.”
Occupational pensions in every contract
Furthermore, Leithner is convinced that occupational pension schemes should be included in “every employment contract”: “Currently, around 50 percent of the working population is in the system, but it should be 90 percent or more, as is already the case in the Netherlands or Switzerland.”
Overall, he argued, the goal is not to make retirement products attractive to high earners, but to “support people with low or middle incomes in building wealth that is not for immediate consumption, but for security in old age.”
Even without state incentives, much has changed, Leithner said: in 2022, there were 19 million investors in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in Europe; that figure has since risen to 33 million, including more than 14 million in Germany. “We are seeing encouraging momentum among young people who suspect that state provision alone will not suffice in old age.”
“The best financial education is the account statement”
However, Germans could benefit much more from value creation in the capital markets. “The Dax was one of the best-performing indices globally in 2024 and 2025. Why are citizens not participating in this appreciation? I find it incomprehensible,” Leithner said.
“The best financial education is the account statement,” the manager remarked. “Seeing that it’s not just 10 euros being added, but that the 10 euros from three years ago have now become 20.” On average, the annual return on the German Stock Index is between 7 and 9 percent, Leithner calculated. “Even if you bought on the most unfavorable day, 15 years later you still had an average return of over three percent.”/als/ben/zb/DP/zb