Germany’s Silver Generation – Activity, Change and Innovation 

Germany’s population is growing older, a demographic shift that brings both challenges and opportunities. Age represents activity, change and innovation. Today’s “silver generation” is better educated, healthier and more dynamic than ever before. “Silver workers” are increasingly in demand for their expertise, experience and leadership skills at German companies with operations both at home and abroad.

At the same time, the German government has beefed up its efforts to support older workers, for instance through its “Initiative 50 Plus” program, which aims to increase the chances of jobseekers over 50 in the employment market through targeted support. The government has also introduced a series of far-reaching reforms to its public-pensions system, including partial privatization. And the German healthcare system remains one of the best and most affordable in the world.

New modes of intergenerational and communal living for active adults are cropping up all over Germany. Cities are constructing “intergenerational playgrounds” and demand for “senior models” is predicted to rise in the fashion and advertising industries as older consumers increasingly drive the economy.

Heimat Redux

Intergenerational neighborhoods, active adult communities, senior apartment shares – in both Germany and the United States, the 50plus generation is seeking out new modes of independent yet communal living. More

More Than a Few Good Women

Active minds make active people, as four fascinating German women from the 50plus generation demonstrate. They reveal how the power of ideas, hard work and discourse with the world at large keep minds sharp over a lifetime. More

Travelers Paradise

From medieval castles to modern cityscapes, from spa vacations to river cruises, Germany is a great place to visit. And more resources than ever before now abound for German-Americans to plan their own personal “heritage holidays”. Start planning your trip to the “land of ideas” today! More

Multi-Generational Centers

The German government is supporting a new way of bringing many generations together in community centers in mutually beneficial arrangements where young and old alike can intermingle and help each other out in daily life. The first such centers have proven popular and more are expected to open across the country. More

Glamour Grows Up

Beauty knows no boundaries when it comes to age – the youth-obsessed world of modeling is gradually waking up the fact that the 50plus generation is healthier and hence better looking than ever before. Advertisers are increasingly seeking out older models for their campaigns in Germany and all over the world. More

Intergenerational Playgrounds

Cities all over Germany and elsewhere in Europe are setting up “playgrounds” catering to the “silver generation” in a bid to boost opportunities to keep active outdoors and allow young and old alike to have some fun together. More

Pension and Healthcare Systems

Reforms to pension and healthcare systems are underway in both Germany and the United States. Similarities in both systems underscore common challenges and common goals of maximizing efficiency and equity through targeted policy changes. More

‘Silver Workers’ Wanted

German companies have been doing well in recent years, and realizing they cannot do without many of their most skilled workers from the 50plus generation, who are now more in demand than ever before. More

Germany’s Senior Citizens League

Widely considered the leading organization addressing the 50plus generation in Germany, the German Senior Citizens League (Deutsche Seniorenliga, DSL) bills itself as the country’s answer to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). More

Portrait of the Gray Panthers

Like the Gray Panthers movement in the United States, Germany has its own Gray Panthers organization, which has even spawned a full-fledged political party. And like its American counterpart, the initial driving force behind this “silver activist” movement is one particularly determined woman. More

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Seniors in Germany

Lifestyle
Heimat Redux
More Than a Few Good Women
Travelers Paradise
Multi-Generational Centers
Glamour Grows Up
Intergenerational Playgrounds

Policy & Economy
Pension and Healthcare Systems
‘Silver Workers’ Wanted
Germany’s Senior Citizens League
Portrait of the Gray Panthers

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