Overview
- The federal Alterssicherungskommission has delivered an 80-page report with 33 recommendations that includes scrapping the abschlagsfreie Altersrente nach 45 Beitragsjahren, commonly known as the 'Rente mit 63'.
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said he wants the package implemented but no draft law, timetable or detailed transition rules have been published yet.
- Around 262,000–270,000 people a year currently use the early, deduction-free route to retirement, so abolishing it would force large numbers of prospective retirees to replan their finances.
- The commission proposes raising the entry age for the early pension with deductions to 64 and linking early-retirement rules to rising life expectancy while offering medical-based exemptions that could allow up to two years earlier retirement without deductions or up to five years with deductions.
- Economic modelling cited by the commission estimates up to €10 billion in annual savings and roughly 125,000 workers staying longer in employment, but unions and advisers warn that workers in long, physically demanding careers—including tens of thousands in NRW—could face unfair hardship without clearer protections.