The last month of the year brings important changes for consumers. From changes to pensions to new regulations for online shopping – those who are informed can benefit and avoid unpleasant surprises.
• Pensioners will receive more money through the new supplement
• Bahn starts the winter season with stable prices and new routes
• Remote-controlled vehicles may be tested on the road for the first time
From December 1, 2025, a central change in pension law will take effect, from which around three million existing pensioners will benefit. As can be seen from an article by rentenbescheid24.de, with the new § 307i SGB VI, the previous transitional surcharge will be replaced by a permanent surcharge on personal earnings points. This particularly affects recipients of disability and survivors’ pensions whose retirement dates are between 2001 and 2018.
The amount of the surcharge depends on the start of retirement: Anyone who retired between January 1, 2001 and June 30, 2014 will receive a surcharge of 7.5 percent on their personal earnings points. If you start your pension between July 1, 2014 and December 31, 2018, the surcharge is 4.5 percent. In practice, for many pensioners this means a monthly increase of between 50 and 140 euros. A special advantage: Advance pensioners will receive their December pension including the new supplement on November 29th.
An important deadline concerns digital commerce. As eRecht24 reports, Germany and all other EU member states must implement the EU directive on the electronic cancellation button into national law by December 19, 2025. The final text of the law will be published on this deadline and forms the basis for subsequent implementation from June 19, 2026.
In the future, the cancellation button will enable consumers to cancel contracts concluded online just as easily as they concluded them. The button will be mandatory for all entrepreneurs who conclude contracts with consumers in electronic commerce. Online retailers should use the coming months to prepare for the technical and legal implementation as soon as the legal text is available.
At the end of 2025, a payment option will finally disappear from German Pension system. As information from the German Pension Insurance shows, Deutsche Post will discontinue the “Payment Instruction for Settlement” (ZzV) service on December 31, 2025. Around 3,300 pensioners are currently using this option to receive their pension in cash without a bank account.
Previously, those affected could have their pension paid out monthly by check at a Postbank branch. From January 2026, however, pension payments can only be made to a checking account. Anyone who does not provide bank details by the end of 2025 will no longer receive their pension payments for the time being – the amounts will be withheld until valid bank details are available. Since 2016, every consumer in Germany has had the right to a so-called basic account, which cannot be refused.
Just in time for the run-up to Christmas, Deutsche Bahn’s new winter timetable will come into force on December 14, 2025. As the Tagesschau reports, the railway is foregoing price increases for the timetable change this time. The savings and super savings prices remain unchanged, as do the prices for rail cards. Travelers have been able to book tickets for the new timetable since mid-October and benefit from early bird discounts.
An important deadline for many companies ends at the end of the year. The special regulation that has been in effect since January 2025, which has doubled the maximum period of receipt of short-time work benefits from twelve to 24 months, expires on December 31, 2025. As the Federal Employment Agency reports, the regular statutory benefit period of twelve months will apply again from January 1, 2026. The extension was intended to secure jobs and give companies more planning security in economically difficult times. Anyone who is dependent on short-time work beyond the turn of the year should include this in their planning in good time.
At the end of the month, another, less visible, but very relevant EU regulation will come into effect: the Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). It is intended to curb global deforestation and obliges companies to only place certain raw materials on the market in the EU if they can be proven to be “deforestation-free”. According to a contribution from the IHK Braunschweig, affected companies must fulfill their extensive due diligence obligations from December 30, 2025.
The regulation affects raw materials such as cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy and wood – and thus numerous everyday products, from steak and chocolate to paper, furniture and rubber products. As the IHK explains, not only large importers are affected, but also retailers if they sell corresponding goods, such as wooden furniture, printer paper or chocolate. Consumers can therefore expect more information about the origin of products, such as evidence of deforestation-free supply chains. However, price movements are also possible if manufacturers change their procurement or have to finance additional verification and documentation requirements.
A far-reaching innovation in traffic law will also come into force on December 1, 2025. With the Road Traffic Remote Control Ordinance (StVFernLV), the Federal Ministry of Transport is creating its own legal framework for remote-controlled motor vehicles on public roads for the first time. Teleoperation means that a person controls a vehicle from a control center without sitting in the vehicle – for example in car sharing cars, shuttle buses or delivery vehicles. As the Federal Ministry of Transport explains in a press release, a five-year test phase will initially begin in which new mobility concepts can be tested. Anyone who suddenly encounters a car without a driver in December will not encounter a legal gray area, but rather a clearly regulated test operation.
D. Maier / editorial team finanzen.net
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