ZEW Economist Tabea Bucher-Koenen Appointed to Pensions Commission

On Wednesday, 17 December 2025, the German government made known the composition of its new Pensions Commission. Its 13 members – experts who were proposed by the CDU and SPD parties – are to submit, by June 2026 at the latest, a proposal for a package of measures that will make Germany’s pension system future-proof and fair for all generations.

The Pensions Commission will be chaired by the former Chair of the Executive Board of the Federal Employment Agency, Frank-Jürgen Weise, and the legal scholar and university lecturer at the German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer, Professor Constanze Janda.

Another member of this high-profile commission is Professor Tabea Bucher-Koenen, who has been head of ZEW’s “Pensions and Sustainable Financial Markets” Research Unit since 2019 and holds the Chair of Financial Markets at the University of Mannheim.

“I am delighted to have been nominated for the Pensions Commission and I am convinced that I will be able to make an active contribution through my expertise,” Tabea Bucher-Koenen says about the decision.

“We need a pension insurance reform which combines sustainable financing with securing a good standard of living in old age. The commission appointed by the government has a key role to play here. We congratulate Tabea Bucher-Koenen on her appointment to the commission and wish her every success in this important and responsible task,” says ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach, PhD.

“The appointment of Professor Bucher-Koenen underlines the excellence and social relevance of research in Mannheim. She is a renowned pensions expert who brings evidence-based perspectives to a challenging reform debate – for the benefit of current and future generations. We congratulate her warmly and look forward to her input to the commission,” says Professor Thomas Fetzer, President of the University of Mannheim.

“Professor Bucher-Koenen’s expertise in household finance and the economics of ageing will enrich the commission's work. As a faculty, we are proud of this appointment and congratulate her warmly,” says Joachim Lutz, President and Dean of Mannheim Business School.