 After the upheavals of 1989 and the ensuing demise of the German Democratic Republic as a separate state, Pehnert took early retirement in 1990.The old Socialist Unity Party reinvented itself for a democratic future, part of which involved rebranding itself as the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS).Horst Pehnert remained a member, participating in local government as a town councillor for Zeuthen where he was now living.