Overview
- The fight hinges on a draft clause keeping the pension level about one percentage point above current law after 2031, which the Young Union says would add roughly €120 billion in costs during the 2030s.
- SPD co-leader Lars Klingbeil and labor minister Bärbel Bas have ruled out any amendment to the bill, with Bas warning that a failed vote could unsettle the coalition.
- Reports indicate the bloc of potential Union dissenters has grown from the original 18 to roughly 35–50 MPs, jeopardizing the government’s majority for the planned December Bundestag vote.
- On ZDF’s Markus Lanz, Karl Lauterbach cautioned that another failed roll call could badly damage the coalition, while JU chief Johannes Winkel vowed to oppose the draft without “substantive” changes.
- The 2025 pension report projects average pension increases of about 2.8% per year, a contribution rate rising to around 20.1% by 2030, and federal reimbursements for the stabilized level reaching about €10.1 billion in 2031.