Overview
- The CDU–SPD government bill would hold the statutory pension level near 48% through 2031, as agreed in August.
- Eighteen younger CDU/CSU members, backed by the Junge Union, say they will not support provisions tied to funding from 2032 to 2040, calling them unfair to younger generations.
- ifo president Clemens Fuest told ZDF’s Maybrit Illner that the pay‑as‑you‑go system has hard limits and that future pensions must rise more slowly than wages.
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz framed the fiscal path as a leadership test and moved to handle the pension fight as a matter for top‑level decision.
- SPD general secretary Tim Klüssendorf defended the plan as consistent with the coalition agreement and pointed to a commission to shape decisions beyond 2031.