Central bank's plan to raise retirement age to 69 ignites anger in Germany

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Germany's Central Bank, the Bundesbank, has prompted anger sugesting the national retirement age should rise to 69.

A retirement age rise from 65 to 67 had already been decided upon by the German government in 2006.

The two-year increase is gradually being put in place and will apply to all German retirees by 2029.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert responded to the suggestion by saying the government "stands by retirement at 67".

The Bundesbank has said a further rise of two years by 2060 would make sure the state system remained viable as the population continues to age.

It said in a report that as the average age in Germany continues to rise, greater stress will be placed on the pension system.

The report states: "In order for pension plans to reflect long term trends, official projections should go past the year 2030."

Other European countries are also attempting to gradually increase their retirement age, with France having increased it from 60 to 62 for those who have made social security contributions all their working life.

For those French citizens who have not, the retirement age is 67.

The Italian government, in an attempt to fight mounting public debt, have increased the retirement threshold to 66 for both men and women.

In the UK, the state pension age will be 66 from 2020 rising to 67 between 2026 and 2028. The government will review the threshold every five years.