Overview
- Merz rejects changing the 48% pension safeguard through 2031 but proposes a joint explanatory text committing to a fundamental reform after 2031.
- He says a pensions commission will be appointed this year and conclude before the 2026 summer recess, with legislation to follow immediately.
- SPD vice chancellor Lars Klingbeil reiterates that the law itself will not be altered.
- CDU minister Karin Prien urges delaying the Bundestag vote to enable broader cross‑generational talks.
- The package maintains a 48% level to 2031 and bundles Aktivrente and a new boost to mothers’ pensions; critics cite about €120 billion in post‑2031 costs, a figure Merz disputes.