Overview

• Unionsfraktionschef Jens Spahn calls for a full cutoff of benefits for people who refuse offered jobs and for scrapping the first‑year full coverage of rent and heating, with the government targeting an October draft to replace Bürgergeld with a new basic security.
• Economic institutes’ autumn Gemeinschaftsdiagnose proposes pension adjustments to ease contribution burdens, while the Sozialverband Deutschland warns the measures would erode essential benefits and heighten the risk of poverty.
• The coalition’s planned Aktivrente faces a dispute over scope: a draft centers on a €2,000‑per‑month tax‑free allowance for earned income from 2026, whereas CDU figures argue for an effective €3,000 threshold that stacks with the general tax allowance.
• Official data show pension shortfalls despite long careers, with more than a quarter of people with at least 45 contribution years receiving under €1,300 a month and notable regional and gender gaps.
• The Bundesagentur für Arbeit reports persistent suspected organized fraud in the current system, opening 293 internal cases and filing 151 criminal complaints through August 2025.