The Launch of Germany’s First Social Partner Pensions Model for the Financial Industry

The German financial industry has recently unveiled a groundbreaking pension offering for its employees, marking a milestone in retirement provision. Union Ver.di and AGV Banken, the employers’ association for the private banking industry, have collaborated to introduce the first social partner pensions model in Germany, providing pure defined contribution (DC) plans to workers.

The inaugural meeting of the social partner advisory board, comprising representatives from both the employer and employee sides, took place on 23rd January. Jens T. Thau, deputy chair of AGV Banken, was elected as the board’s chair, with Judith Kerschbaumer of Union Ver.di selected as the deputy for the next two years.

Moving forward, the advisory board will engage directly with companies to offer guidance and information regarding the pension plan. Marco Herrmann, a member of the board of the pension provider for the financial sector BVV, stressed the board’s crucial role in designing and implementing the pure DC pension products.

The introduction of the social partner model for the banking industry represents a significant advancement in retirement provision within the financial sector and the wider country. Prior to this, similar models were only established in the chemical industry and by Uniper, making this a momentous achievement for Germany’s financial industry.

The approval from the financial supervisory authority BaFin means that BVV.MAXRENTE can now provide the social partner model through BVV Pensionsfonds. This development enables private banking companies to contribute to the BVV Pensionsfonds under the “pay and forget” principle, managing the assets in conservative and risk-oriented products.

This initiative is pivotal as it relieves employers from liabilities without a guarantee for their employees, presenting an additional option for occupational pensions in Germany alongside Pensionskassen, Pensionsfonds, and direct insurance (Direktversicherung), direct promise (Direktzusage), and support funds (Unterstützungskasse).

The introduction of the social partner model for the German financial industry is a significant step towards enhancing retirement provisions in the country. The collaboration between employers and employees in providing pension solutions is expected to have a positive impact on the financial well-being of workers in the industry.