“Pension at 63”: Labor Minister Schweitzer calls for a compromise

The new Federal Labor Minister Alexander Schweitzer is striving for a "good compromise" in the dispute over early retirement without deductions after 45 years of contributions. The SPD politician told the Rheinpfalz newspaper that he had assured Chancellor Friedrich Merz that he would work quickly and thoroughly.

The pension commission's proposals envisage abolishing the so-called "pension at 63". Schweitzer, who was sworn in as minister on Wednesday, spoke out against the abolition in August.

He now emphasized that the black-red coalition had agreed in the coalition agreement to generally maintain the pension without deductions after 45 years of contributions.

Pension Commission proposes end of “pension at 63”.

In June, the pension commission appointed by the federal government presented 33 proposals for a comprehensive pension reform, including the abolition of the pension without deductions after 45 years of insurance.

There has been resistance to this in the SPD for a long time. However, the three East German CDU Prime Ministers Sven Schulze, Michael Kretschmer and Mario Voigt also opposed the plans.

When asked about his predecessor Bärbel Bas's statement that the pension proposals were a work of art, Schweitzer said that "political debates can and must take place" on their basis.