Altersteilzeit, or phased retirement, is being utilized intensively in the states most affected by the structural changes occurring in the automotive industry, specifically Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, and Lower Saxony. Of the 271,000 employees nationwide currently utilizing phased retirement in 2024, 142,000 individuals-representing 52 percent-come solely from these three regions. This data comes from the federal government’s response to a parliamentary inquiry submitted by the Left Party’s faction, which was reported by the newspapers of the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland.”
Looking purely at insured individuals, the proportion of those in phased retirement relative to all pension recipients is 0.95 percent in Bavaria, 0.94 percent in Baden-Württemberg, and 0.86 percent in Lower Saxony. Berlin records the lowest percentage among these states, standing at 0.3 percent.
Sarah Vollath, a pension expert for the Left Party, told RND that the proposed restrictions to phased retirement would “hit employees in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, and Lower Saxony particularly hard.” She noted that announcements from companies in these areas, particularly automotive suppliers, indicated that the alternative to phased retirement in many cases was company-related layoffs. Vollath argued that it could not be in the federal government’s interest to force thousands of workers in their fifties into unemployment. Therefore, the Left politician demanded that the government must ensure the continuation of the block model, thus allowing companies to continue offering their employees a flexible and socially regulated transition into retirement.
Furthermore, the pension commission is calling for the complete abolition of the block model, which is currently used in phased retirement approximately 80 percent of the time.
