Overview
- Dennis Radtke, head of the CDU's social wing, publicly called for ending the Mütterrente and said the roughly €5 billion could pay for cold‑progression tax relief and hardship rules after changes to early-retirement rules.
- CSU-General Martin Huber rejected the proposal as “unsozial und ungerecht” and Markus Söder pledged to press ahead with the benefit while reaffirming support for Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
- The Mütterrente is designed to equalize pension credits for mothers with children born before 1992 and is due to raise payments to about €128 per child under the planned reform next year.
- Analysts and critics point out that the top‑up can be reduced by basic old‑age support payments so the poorest women may see little net gain, which fuels questions about the policy’s targeting.
- The public exchange has turned a long-running internal debate into a live coalition fault line that could affect upcoming budget and social-policy negotiations.