Overview

• The Bundestag held the first reading of the rentenpaket and referred the draft to committees for further scrutiny.
• Labor Minister Bärbel Bas said the 48% statutory level will stay through 2031 and stressed the package carries the signatures of CDU, CSU and SPD.
• The Union’s 18-member Junge Gruppe signaled it will withhold support, a potential veto given the coalition’s narrow working majority.
• Critics warn of more than €115 billion in extra public costs from 2032 to 2040 if the level remains above the current-law path, while Bas frames the move as protecting trust in pensions.
• The draft also recognizes three years of child‑rearing for pensions regardless of birth year and seeks to strengthen occupational pensions with tax incentives, as Chancellor Merz promotes a mandatory private, capital‑funded contribution that social groups VdK and SoVD caution could burden low‑income households.