Overview
- At the JU gathering in Rust, leader Johannes Winkel urged Merz to stop the SPD-drafted reform, citing projected extra costs of roughly €115–120 billion beyond the coalition agreement.
- The draft from Social Minister Bärbel Bas guarantees a 48 percent pension level through 2031 and, critics say, extends effects beyond that date, shifting costs to younger generations.
- Merz is scheduled to address delegates this morning as JU members press for clear backing on generation fairness and warn they may withhold their votes in the Bundestag.
- CDU figures differ on handling the dispute, with General Secretary Carsten Linnemann avoiding the topic in remarks while CDU vice chair Michael Kretschmer backed the youth critics.
- Potential off-ramps under discussion include review clauses, earlier deadlines for a pensions commission, or restoring a demographic adjustment factor, but no compromise has been reached.