While government expenditure was fuelled by a sharp rise in pension and healthcare costs, government interest payments again contracted significantly, chiefly thanks to the very favourable funding conditions. The fiscal balance could deteriorate somewhat in the current year.
Amongst other things, this is likely a result of faster expenditure growth due, not least, to the rise in social payments resulting from the pension benefits package adopted in mid-2014. However, a slight general government surplus will again be recorded this year. Regardless of the good situation overall and the favourable economic outlook, continued risks to economic developments in Germany must not be neglected.