📈 Pension adjustment 2026 and state of reform
In brief
What already applies: Pensions rise by 4.24 percent on 1 July 2026. The current pension value (aktueller Rentenwert) rises from 40.79 euros to 42.52 euros. 1,000 euros become 1,042.40 euros. The notices arrived between mid-June and the end of July 2026.
What has already been adopted: The Pension Package 2025 fixed the pension level at 48 percent until 2031 (guarantee line). The law passed the Bundesrat on 19 December 2025.
What does not apply yet: The proposals of the Old-Age Security Commission (report of June 2026), the Frühstartrente (early-start pension, draft bill) and the housing benefit reform (draft). They are not current law.
Step by step
- Read the pension adjustment noticeCheck the new amount from 1 July 2026 and the amount actually paid out after deduction of contributions.
- Check the amount paid outTax and health insurance are included in it in different ways (see the separate pages).
- Report to the office if you receive basic income support or housing benefitA pension increase can change benefits. Tell the office.
- Use only official sourcesDo not treat proposals and drafts as current rules.
Deadlines
- Old-Age Security Commission: 33 recommendations (among others, linking the standard retirement age to life expectancy after 2031). According to the DRV, only the existing law applies until it is implemented by statute. There is no law. The coalition committee wants to implement all 33 recommendations on 2 July 2026; a draft bill is outstanding (as of September 2026). According to the recommendations, at the earliest: capital-based pension 2028, linking the standard retirement age to life expectancy from 2031, sustainability factor from 2032.
- Frühstartrente: cabinet draft of 12 August 2026, entry into force planned for 1 January 2027; start retroactively on 1 January 2026 with birth year 2020, first payments in and payouts from 2027. First reading in the Bundestag on 25 September 2026 (as of media reports), not passed.
- The Aktivrente has applied since 1 January 2026 (see separate page).
- The figure of 77.85 euros for the rise in the standard pension comes from a search-result summary and was not checked against the full text.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals
Pension adjustment 2026
According to the Deutsche Rentenversicherung, the current pension value rises by 4.24 percent from 40.79 to 42.52 euros on 1 July 2026. Wage factor 1.0425; net ratio factor 0.9999 (reduces the adjustment by 0.01 percentage points); sustainability and contribution rate factor not applied until 2031 under the current rules. According to media reports, the Bundesrat approved the ordinance on 12 June 2026 (cabinet 29 April 2026; Bundesrat date not checked against the full text of the primary source).
Pension Package 2025
Guarantee line 48 percent until 2031; Mütterrente III (supplement of 0.5 personal earnings points per child born before 1992 from 1 January 2027 for pensions starting up to 31 December 2027; 36 months of child-raising periods only for pensions starting from 1 January 2028; payment delayed until 2028 because of technical implementation at the DRV, back payment for 2027); Aktivrente from 2026; Betriebsrentenstärkungsgesetz II. Bundestag 5 December 2025, Bundesrat 19 December 2025 (according to BMAS announcements and the Bundestag).
Not current law
The Old-Age Security Commission presented its report on 23 June 2026. The DRV states: "Until corresponding laws are passed, only the existing pension law applies." Other announced reforms (Frühstartrente, housing benefit reform) are drafts. Frühstartrente: cabinet 12 August 2026, first reading 25 September 2026; entry into force 1 January 2027, start retroactively on 1 January 2026 with birth year 2020, first payments in and payouts from 2027.
Standard rates
The standard rates (Regelbedarfe) of basic income support in old age were not increased in 2026 (see the basic income support page).
Mütterrente III from 1 January 2027 (primary source checked)
Under the Act to Stabilise the Pension Level and to Fully Equalise Child-Raising Periods (BGBl. 2025 I Nr. 362): § 249 Abs. 1 SGB VI is changed from 30 to 36 calendar months, in force from 1 January 2028 (Article 1 No. 7 letter a). For pensions that already exist or start before 2028, § 307d SGB VI provides from 1 January 2027 for a supplement of 0.5 personal earnings points per child born before 1992: Abs. 1b applies to pensions starting from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2026, Abs. 1c to pensions starting in 2027 (at the earliest from the start of the pension). The supplement also follows from Abs. 1 sentence 4 (existing pensions on 30 June 2014) and Abs. 1a sentence 3 (pension start 1 July 2014 to 31 December 2018). Requirement in the law: consideration period "credited or not credited because of § 57 sentence 2"; no entitlement under §§ 294, 294a. For the miners' pension scheme, Abs. 2 applies (supplement × 0.75). § 291c: The federal government reimburses the additional expenditure for 2027 that arises in 2028 in 2028. The delayed payment is supported by law through § 307d Abs. 6 (no entitlement to review before the end of 31 December 2027), § 291c sentence 2 (additional expenditure for 2027 arises in 2028) and Art. 2 (§ 114 Abs. 7 SGB IV); BGBl. 2025 I Nr. 362. Requirements in individual cases not conclusively checked.
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