Overview
- Berlin is setting up a 13-member pension commission for December 17 with a narrow Union majority of seven seats over six for the SPD, with Friedrich Merz and Labor Minister Bärbel Bas naming the co-chairs.
- Economist Jens Südekum’s idea to tie retirement to about 45 contribution years won tentative interest from Bas and Merz but drew pushback from DIW, Greens and employers over equity and design.
- Ifo’s Clemens Fuest criticized the 48% level freeze and suspended sustainability factor, estimating roughly €16 billion in extra costs in 2031 rising toward €20 billion, and urged linking retirement to life expectancy.
- Socialverband Deutschland pressed to broaden the payer base by including self‑employed, lawmakers and civil servants, and called for targeted measures against old‑age poverty rather than broad expansions.
- Coalition strains persist as SPD figures warn the Union could use the commission to overrule them, while Markus Söder set red lines against adding civil servants and new levies on dividends; proposals are due by mid‑2026 with a vote targeted for late 2026.