diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index d3df7b667..5ca48be75 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -727,6 +727,9 @@
       <plugin>
         <artifactId>maven-pmd-plugin</artifactId>
         <!-- TODO: choose appropriate rulesets -->
+        <configuration>
+          <targetJdk>1.5</targetJdk>
+        </configuration>
       </plugin>
     </plugins>
   </reporting>