Heinrich Tiemann, German deputy minister for labour and social affairs, has reaffirmed that the government has no plans to make retirement saving mandatory.
Speaking at a conference, he said that the Riester pension reforms of 2001 had prompted a dramatic rise in demand for second- and third pillar pensions.
He also signalled that the government might not extend social tax exemptions for defined contribution schemes created by the reforms. Tiemann said the exemptions had already served the purpose of boosting demand for corporate pensions in Germany.
“The exemptions were always intended to, initially, boost demand for corporate pensions in Germany. This has now been accomplished,” Tiemann said. He was referring to the fact that currently, around 60% of employees own some type of corporate pension against 38% at the beginning of 2002.
“Now, if the exemptions are removed from 2009, the government is still confident that corporate pensions in Germany face a bright future,” the minister told the conference in Berlin.
Leading pension experts like Professor Bert Rürup have called for mandatory retirement saving at the corporate level.

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