Overview
- Prognos, in a study for INSM, estimates €479.1 billion in additional federal spending by 2050, including €379.5 billion for permanent pension-level stabilization and €99.6 billion for an expanded mothers’ pension.
- Junge Union leader Johannes Winkel says 18 Union MPs will vote against the bill unless high post‑2031 cost drivers are removed, citing unfair burdens on younger generations.
- Vice-Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil insists the legislation must pass intact, leaving Chancellor Friedrich Merz to assemble a majority for the imminent vote.
- The plan keeps the statutory pension at roughly 48 percent of average gross pay at least through 2031 by suspending the sustainability factor, with reporting flagging additional triple‑digit‑billion costs in the 2032–2040 period.
- INSM’s Thorsten Alsleben denounces the draft as a fiscal mistake that binds future budgets, while critics press for structural fixes such as a higher retirement age and curbs on privileged early‑retirement rules.