VW allows workers to retire at age 57 with 95 percent of salary

Volkswagen has opened a short-time work program before retirement (Altersteilzeit) for the generation born in 1969.

From January 26, 2026, affected employees can apply for retirement at the age of 57 – ten years before the legal retirement age. The decision is a central part of the company's strategy to cut around 35,000 jobs in Germany by 2030. Similar regulations are already being prepared for the generation born in 1970.

Short-time work before retirement is an instrument that Volkswagen uses to facilitate socially acceptable retirement transitions. For employees born in 1969, the company offers attractive conditions that go beyond legal standards.

These employees receive a salary supplement of up to 95 percent of their previous net salary. The company also meets the statutory pension insurance contributions at 100 percent and compensates for half of the pension gap created by early retirement for life.

Similar rules apply to severely disabled people born in 1970. The use of the early retirement option is on a voluntary basis.

VW assumes that around 70 percent of covered employees will benefit from this option. The figure of over 20,000 employees from 1969 to 1975 offers great potential for a socially acceptable transition../Indeksonline/