In 2008, it was resolved that a generational multiplier would be introduced to meet the financing requirements arising from the longevity of the members. From 1 January 2009, this was applied to the existing total pension entitlements of all members born after 1950. It amounts to 100% for those born in 1949 and decreases by 0.25 percentage points for each subsequent year. Demographic change is therefore factored into the pension calculation and reduces pressure on the equity and liabilities side of the balance sheet. The generational multiplier causes members’ pension entitlements to decline moderately depending on their year of birth. For example, a monthly pension of EUR 2,000.00 decreases as follows:
The idea behind introducing the generational multiplier was that the financing requirement arising due to members’ longevity should not just be financed from the income of coming years. That approach would disadvantage older members. They would have to share the burden of the financing requirements under the profession’s 1997 mortality tables and those from 2006, despite the fact that the biometric burden for the Versorgungswerk stems from increased longevity, particularly of the younger members. It is thus necessary to protect the older members and to distribute some of the expense of financing increased longevity by means of the generational multiplier based on year of birth. For young and future members, that means a moderate adjustment to the pension entitlement.
