Overview

• DIW proposes a 10% levy on all old-age incomes above €1,000 per month with revenues channeled into a dedicated fund for boosting low pensions
• The Union parties and economists at IW Köln reject the surcharge as undermining planning certainty and neglecting assets beyond pension payments
• Economic advisor Bert Rürup dismisses the ‘Boomer-Soli’ as an ‘Irrweg’ that could erode trust in private and occupational retirement savings
• Monika Schnitzer, along with figures in the SPD and the DGB, signals openness to contributions from wealthier retirees or broader tax-based measures
• The dispute intensifies as Germany’s pay-as-you-go pension system comes under demographic strain and a new pension commission prepares to review structural reforms