Overview
- Labour Minister Bärbel Bas said on ARD she finds linking pension start to contribution years appealing, citing economist Jens Südekum’s proposal.
- The Bundestag last week fixed the pension level and kept the sustainability factor suspended through 2031.
- Ifo chief Clemens Fuest rejected the contribution-years approach and urged longer working lives through the sustainability factor and life‑expectancy indexing.
- Ifo estimates the package adds about €16 billion in 2031, rising toward €20 billion thereafter, and says its preferred changes could cut pension spending by roughly one percentage point of GDP over time.
- Economists and politicians including Martin Werding, Marcel Fratzscher and Linke MP Cornelia Gohlke warn of unfairness and potential labor shortages, with alternatives to be considered by a government commission planned for 2026.