The recent passage of the German government’s pension package has been met with cautious optimism, tempered by warnings that the measures represent only a partial solution to the challenges facing the statutory pension system. Verena Bentele, President of the social welfare association VdK, acknowledged the government’s decision to maintain a contribution rate of 48 percent as a positive step, ensuring that pensions will not lose purchasing power for at least the next six years. This move, she stated, could bolster confidence in the statutory pension system, particularly welcome for current retirees. The alignment of childcare periods with the “mothers’ pension” (Mutterschaftsrente) also constitutes a constructive element.
However, Bentele emphasized that the current package should not be viewed as a definitive resolution, instead calling for a broader structural overhaul via the planned pension commission. The commission’s mandate, she argued, must encompass a system for distributing the burden more equitably, bringing civil servants and the self-employed into the statutory pension framework. Critically, this must also unlock the untapped potential of the labor market, especially regarding the participation of women. Failure to do so will jeopardize the long-term viability of the statutory pension as the cornerstone of retirement security.
Furthermore, the VdK president voiced concerns that the package falls short of adequately addressing the persistent problem of old-age poverty. She proposed a significant exemption threshold on statutory pension payments for individuals reliant on basic social security benefits. This would allow more women, who are disproportionately affected by poverty due to historical disadvantages in the labor market, to truly benefit from the expanded childcare period credits. Bentele strongly criticized the unequal treatment of different pension models, arguing that similar exemptions currently available for company and private pension schemes, as well as for basic pensions, should also apply to income derived from statutory pension insurance. This discriminatory practice, she asserted, remains inexplicable and undermines the fairness of the overall retirement security landscape.
