Overview

• Labor Minister Bärbel Bas proposed including civil servants, self-employed workers and MPs in the statutory pension scheme to boost revenues, but the CDU/CSU quickly rejected the plan.
• Finance expert Thomas Soltau warns that with nearly two retirees for each contributor the pay-as-you-go system is unsustainable without fundamental reform.
• The SPD defends the existing pension framework, noting that contribution rates remain below earlier projections and pledges to secure a 48 percent pension level through 2031.
• Critics say the Riester pension has cost about €3.5 billion annually without delivering lasting benefits and urge stronger investment in capital markets.
• Experts caution that retiring baby boomers will intensify demographic pressures and call for a lasting, cross-party consensus on pension reform.