Handelsblatt1 hour agoPolitics2 min readGermany

Old age security: coalition parliamentary group leaders for pension reform - but different ideas about the time

Quick Look

There are still differences in the black-red coalition over the implementation of the pension reform.
While CDU parliamentary group leader Frei is calling for a bill from the Ministry of Labor to discuss details, SPD parliamentary group leader Miersch emphasizes the need for a training period for the new Labor Minister Schweitzer and criticizes the planned non-contributory pension after 45 years of contributions as unfair.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

The black-red coalition had agreed on a pension reform that, among other things, provides for a non-contributory pension after 45 years of contributions. However, the implementation is encountering internal differences, particularly regarding the timing and possible changes to the Pension Commission's proposals.

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Berlin. There are still differences in the black-red coalition over the implementation of the agreed pension reform. The parliamentary group leaders of the CDU/CSU and SPD, Thorsten Frei and Matthias Miersch, assured on Sunday evening on ARD that the pension reform would be passed. However, there were clear differences in time expectations and possible changes.

Frei called on ARD on Sunday for a draft law from the Ministry of Labor so that details could be discussed. This applies, for example, to the controversial non-contributory pension after 45 years of contributions, said the CDU politician.

In this way, it can be clarified whether a distinction is made between 45 years of work and fewer years of work with additional credit periods without pension insurance payments. “These are all points that you can definitely talk about if you transfer these recommendations into a draft law,” he said in the direction of the new Labor Minister Alexander Schweitzer (SPD). However, it is not possible to isolate individual points from the 33 proposals made by the Pension Commission. Frei insisted on speed.

SPD parliamentary group leader Miersch, on the other hand, did not want to be tied to a specific date and called for training time for the new labor minister, who must present the draft law. He agreed with Schweitzer and the SPD Prime Ministers Manuela Schwesig (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania) and Anke Rehlinger (Saarland) that they wanted a major pension reform. “But we see that this regulation contradicts many people’s sense of justice.”

He pointed out that three CDU prime ministers in the East also argued the same way. “We would have been powdered with the staple bag if we were to simply proceed according to the motto ‘close your eyes and go through’.” Miersch doubted that experts said that sticking to the pension without deductions after 45 years of contributions would cost ten billion euros. “I believe that everything will work,” he added, referring to the coalition.

The CDU politician Frei pointed out that the Union insisted that the pension be decided in a legislative package. That is the lesson from the transfer of citizens' money into basic security. The SPD-led Ministry of Labor has still not presented the agreed second stage of the reform, which is significant

What to Watch

AI outlook — possibilities, not facts

The Minister of Labor will present a bill on pension reform in the coming weeks.
Likely · Within weeks
The SPD will bring its concerns about the fairness of the non-contributory pension after 45 years of contributions into the negotiations.
Very likely · Within weeks

Open Questions

When will the Minister of Labor present the bill?
What specific changes to the pension reform are still being discussed?
How is the financing of the non-contributory pension secured after 45 years?