DGB Survey: 40 Percent of Employees Doubt They Can Work Until Retirement

Where skepticism is greatest

A new evaluation of the DGB Index Gute Arbeit paints a similar picture: according to this, around half of employees in skilled trades, nursing, construction, education, and other physically or psychologically demanding professions doubt they will be able to last until retirement. The data was collected between 2022 and 2026.

As key risk factors, the DGB cites high physical strain, constant time pressure, and heavy noise exposure. Long working hours, limited decision-making latitude, and a lack of workplace health promotion also significantly worsen employees' assessments. Those who work under these conditions view their own career trajectory considerably more skeptically.

Fahimi warns against raising the retirement age

DGB chair Yasmin Fahimi described the findings to the Funke newspapers as a "bitteres Ergebnis" (bitter result). She warned that the government must no longer ignore this reality. At the same time, she demanded that the bar on the retirement age should not be constantly raised, but that attention should turn to working conditions. "Das Ziel müsse sein, die Menschen bis zum Ruhestand gesund in der Erwerbsarbeit zu halten statt die Messlatte beim Renteneintrittsalter immer höher zu legen," said Fahimi.

The union leader put it pointedly: „Es kann niemand wollen, dass sich ganze Generationen krank in die Rente schleppen und dann Abzüge einfach hinnehmen müssen." Instead of constantly raising the bar on the retirement age, dignified transitions into retirement and healthier working conditions are needed. „Diese Realitäten darf die Regierung bei ihren Rentenentscheidungen nicht länger ignorieren," demanded Fahimi.

Plans of the governing coalition

The conflict is politically highly charged: the governing coalition of CDU, CSU, and SPD had announced this week that it intended to swiftly implement the recommendations of the Pensions Commission as a package. The commission had presented 33 reform proposals. These include linking the retirement age to life expectancy, abolishing the so-called "Rente mit 63" (retirement at 63), a broader financing base, and a capital-funded pillar.

Under the coalition's plans, people born in 1965 or later would be affected by the link between retirement age and life expectancy. The increase is to take place gradually. The DGB survey fundamentally calls these plans into question, as it points to widespread overload in professions that are essential for the functioning of society and the economy.

What would need to change

Fahimi therefore argues that a reform of the working world urgently needs to be considered alongside pension reform. Investments in health protection, age-appropriate workplaces, and shorter periods of strain are necessary so that employees can realistically work longer in the first place. Otherwise, a growing gap threatens between political ambition and individual capacity.

The DGB survey is considered one of the most extensive datasets on subjective employment prognoses in Germany. The fact that four out of ten employees doubt their own ability to work until retirement is interpreted by the unions as a clear signal to the federal government to at least supplement the planned pension reform — if not fundamentally rework it.