Overview

• DIW president Marcel Fratzscher has urged a compulsory one-year social service for retirees, particularly the Babyboomer generation.
• He argues the measure would better share burdens across generations and help ease staffing gaps in care, health and defense.
• Federal Family Minister Karin Prien called the concept a "completely wrong approach" at a CDU Seniors’ Union gathering in Magdeburg on Friday.
• The Sozialverband Deutschland criticized the idea as disrespectful to older people, noting many life choices were driven by financial constraints.
• Fratzscher defended the plan in a Die Zeit essay and at a Berlin event, saying he received thousands of critical messages while also drawing some support, including from activist Luisa Neubauer.