What Determines Supply and Demand for Occupational Pension Provision in Germany? Results of a Current Expert Surveys

Retirement at 70, old-age poverty, the importance of private and occupational pension schemes are all topics that have been discussed in German politics for years. Experts agree that the statutory pension insurance of the Federal Republic of Germany, which is financed on a pay-as-you-go basis, is facing a massive problem due to demographic developments. Therefore, effective and sustainable solutions are needed. The idea of pension provision must be strengthened again among citizens in order to create incentives for their own provision in old age. With the introduction of the Act to Strengthen Occupational Pensions on 1 January 2018, the legislator pursued the goal of promoting occupational pension provision in Germany, making it more interesting and thus achieving an increase in demand. Unlike private pension provision, where the customer decides whether or not to take out a contract, in occupational pension provision, the employer plays a decisive role in addition to the employee. Based on this insight, expert interviews were conducted with a mix of small, medium, and large companies in Germany in 2023. This chapter presents the results of the qualitatively analyzed interviews. In the first step, the currently available literature is analyzed and evaluated. In the further course, the results of the conducted expert interviews are presented and evaluated, before further approaches for increasing the demand for occupational pension provision are identified and summarised on the basis of the information gained in order to provide an outlook for further research.