Pension duration
In Germany, the duration of the pension entitlement is the time in which a contributor to the statutory pension scheme receives a pension. It is calculated from the difference between the year in which the pension commences and that in which the pension ceases due to death .
The average duration of pension payments has doubled to almost 20 years due to increasing life expectancy since the early 1960s. In West Germany it rose for men from 9.6 years in 1960 - over 13.9 years 1990 - to 15.3 years in 2007. For West German women it increased from 10.6 years in 1960 to over 17.2 years in 1990 19.4 years 2007. For the new federal states there are no similar data from a long time ago. In 2007, the average pension duration there was between 13 years for men and 22 years for women.
The start of retirement, i.e. the age from which the pension begins to be paid, has only been postponed by around 2 years to 61 years in the same period since 1960. It remains to be seen what influence the gradual increase in the standard retirement age by a maximum of 2 years from 2012 will have on the start of retirement and thus on the duration of the pension.