Overview

• Marcel Fratzscher argues retirees should complete a compulsory social year to bolster strained pension and care systems, saying babyboomers had too few children.
• He rejects compelling Generation Z to serve now, citing labor needs, and suggests they could fulfill a service year decades later in old age.
• Fratzscher confirms he wants even boomers who performed military or civil service in youth to serve again, while noting he himself did not serve because two older brothers had.
• Family Minister Karin Prien of the CDU calls the proposal the wrong approach, and groups including the DGB and SoVD criticize it as unfair and divisive.
• The idea extends a broader debate over pension sustainability that has included a proposed 'Boomer-Soli' levy, with outcomes expected to hinge on upcoming reform work and commission input.