Green Party members in the German Bundestag have drafted a motion to overhaul private pension provision with a state‑run citizen fund modeled on Sweden’s system. In the motion, the Greens claim that successful examples such as Sweden’s demonstrate how a publicly managed fund with automatic enrolment can reach the entire population. The proposal is scheduled for debate in February, but it is likely to be rejected by the ruling red‑black coalition.
According to the Greens, the citizen fund would replace the failed Riester scheme and provide a better alternative than the pension reform announced by Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil in December. The fund would either be created anew or transferred to an existing public‑law carrier, remain politically independent, and be professionally managed.
Under the plan, employees on standard employment contracts would automatically contribute a portion of their wages, with an opt‑out provision that allows them to refuse. Self‑employed and other groups would be able to join voluntarily under an opt‑in rule. The fund would invest the pooled capital broadly and largely passively in the market, focusing on returns while excluding fossil‑fuel businesses such as oil companies and prioritising German and European securities.
Green finance spokesperson Stefan Schmidt said the citizen fund would mark a genuine restart of state‑subsidised private pensions, correcting the shortcomings of the failed Riester scheme and delivering higher supplementary retirement income.
