The reform proposals from the pension commission, which Friedrich Merz (CDU) wants to implement in full, have drawn mixed reactions from the business community. Peter Adrian, president of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), said: “The commission’s proposals mark important steps toward a long-overdue reform of our pension system,” stressing the need for a sustainable system for Germany as a business location. The National Association of German Cooperative Banks (BVR) also called the recommendations a well-founded contribution to a urgently needed structural reform.
Criticism comes from the German Trade Union Federation (DGB) and the United Services Union (Ver.di). DGB chairwoman Yasmin Fahimi said abolishing the pension after 45 years of contributions was wrong: “Pension policy is not just mathematics – it is also a question of fairness.” Ver.di chief Frank Werneke added that anyone who has worked for 45 years must be able to retire earlier without deductions. The DIHK, however, sees stopping early retirement as an important signal against the skilled labor shortage, saying 250,000 people per year would remain in the workforce.
Unions view positively the proposal to largely abolish mini-jobs and the planned inclusion of members of parliament, self-employed people, and executives in the statutory pension system. The commission had previously recommended raising the retirement age more slowly and reforming private pension provision.
Source: www.spiegel.de
