The German pension reform of 2007, which raises the retirement age to 67, is often given as an example in France, quite forgetting the fact that this reform is due to be phased in gradually until 2029, and that a lot of workers retire before the legal age due to less severe pension reductions. Early retirement at 63 with a full pension, which was passed in 2014, reconsiders the 2007 law, although it is only reserved for workers with 45 years of pension insurance. Pension adequacy issues arise because the standard pension for 45 years of insurance at average wages is much higher than actual pension payments. To cope with demographic and financial constraints, Germany has adopted sophisticated monitoring and pension calculation systems, which are both supposed to shore up the public pension system over the long term. But the scheduled cut in replacement rates related to a policy aimed at promoting private pension plans ushers in a new paradigm for the pension system. These reforms, which cannot prevent the risk of poverty for an increasing number of retirees nor a further increase in public pension expenditure, raise the question as to whether Germany can actually be held up as an example.