The German Education Union (Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft, GEW) will join existing social partner models (SPM) to offer defined contribution (DC) pension plans to employees in private schools and universities.
The decision also covers staff in institutions sponsoring child and youth welfare, as well as other education providers concluding collective bargaining agreements, according to Judith Kerschbaumer, head of the labour market and social policy department and pension policy at union Ver.di.
She outlined the plans in an article for the occupational pension association aba’s publication, BetrAV, following GEW’s general meeting at the end of May.
GEW will participate in SPMs on the condition that employers pay at least half of contributions, and that at least one other union under the umbrella of the Deutsche Gewerkschaftsbund (DGB) is involved in the implementation and management of the scheme, Kerschbaumer wrote.
According to a report in pension.industries, GEW is likely to offer DC plans via the Metzler Sozialpartner Pensionsfonds, which is also preparing to offer pure DC plans to employees in the private bus sector as part of a “docking” strategy to extend its reach.
Kerschbaumer described collective mechanisms to build pension provision, without placing risks on individuals, as an attractive opportunity to deliver significantly better benefits for members.
GEW is the third of eight DGB-affiliated unions to adopt the social partner model for company pensions. Ver.di and the IGBCE launched the first SPM for occupational pensions at energy group Uniper.
Ver.di has also agreed DC plans for the banking sector with the employers’ association in the private banking industry, AGV Banken, and the German Bank Employees’ Association (DBV).
The collective bargaining agreements for the banking industry remain the only ones in Germany to include an opt-out clause, Kerschbaumer noted. Three more banks will join the BVV Pensionsfonds’ DC schemes from October, with the fund also aiming to open its SPM to employers outside financial services.
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