The SPD rejects Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s (CDU) proposal for a paradigm shift in pension insurance toward a much larger role for private provision.
“We view the statutory pension as a strong and reliable foundation for retirement security” said Dagmar Schmidt, vice‑chair of the SPD parliamentary group, to “Handelsblatt” on Wednesday. “It has carried us through ups and downs-often delivering higher returns than many capital‑funded products”.
At the same time, the social democrats are “open to a capital‑funded component” so that employees can also benefit from investment earnings. Schmidt cautioned that such an approach only works if it is financed equally by both employees and employers.
Consequently, she proposes an obligatory company pension to restore a standard‑of‑living‑preserving retirement plan that can be available to everyone.
