Business · Economy · 10 hrs ago
French retirees are better protected than German retirees, but at a higher cost
French retirees receive more income relative to the pay of people nearing retirement than German retirees do: 61% of the median late-career salary, compared with 48%.
In 2025, 11.6% of people aged 65 and over in France lived in poverty, compared with 19.5% in Germany.
The gap is larger among seniors with less education: poverty rates were 16.5% in France and 30.9% in Germany.
Among university graduates, the rates were closer, at 6.1% in France and 10.5% in Germany.
Poverty thresholds depend on each country’s median income, so the figures do not mean that the same income is considered poor in both countries.
France spends 12.8% of its GDP on old-age benefits, compared with 10.4% in Germany, and economist Pierre-André Buigues argues that France supports this more generous system with public borrowing and a narrower working population.
Pensions are expected to be a major issue in France’s 2027 presidential election.
French retirees receive a higher share of late-career median pay than German retirees, according to figures cited by economist Pierre-André Buigues.
In 2025, poverty affected 11.6% of people aged 65 and over in France, compared with 19.5% in Germany.
The gap was larger among seniors with lower levels of education: poverty rates were 16.5% in France and 30.9% in Germany.
France spends 12.8% of its GDP on old-age benefits, compared with 10.4% in Germany.
Buigues says France finances its more generous pension system with public debt and has a narrower active population base.
- Who
- Retirees in France and Germany, compared by economist Pierre-André Buigues.
- What
- The article says French retirees, especially those with lower education, are better protected against poverty than German retirees. France spends a larger share of GDP on old-age benefits.
- When
- The poverty figures are for 2025. The article was published on 11 October 2026.
- Where
- France and Germany.
- Why
- The article attributes France’s lower poverty rates among retirees to a more generous pension system, which Buigues says is financed through public debt.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
No direct quotes in the coverage so far.
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- Retiree income relative to late-career median pay
- France: 61%; Germany: 48%
- Poverty among people aged 65 and over in 2025
- France: 11.6%; Germany: 19.5%
- Poverty among seniors with lower education
- France: 16.5%; Germany: 30.9%
- Old-age spending as a share of GDP
- France: 12.8%; Germany: 10.4%
Sources
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