SPD General Secretary Tim Klüssendorf has called for an extension of mandatory pension insurance to civil servants, the self‑employed and politicians. “It is totally unfair to me that, as a politician, I can acquire a decent pension right while in the Bundestag in just a few years” he told the RTL and ntv programme „Frühstart” on Monday.
Klüssendorf said he would “immediately” push for politicians to start paying into the statutory pension scheme. “It may not be a huge cost issue, but at least it carries a strong symbolic value: we’ll start on our own” he explained. In a solidaristic system, he stressed, everybody should contribute and there should be no separate pension funds for different groups.
He noted that civil‑servants currently receive higher pensions that are financed differently, with provisions set aside to cover future costs. “But a gradual shift for newly appointed civil servants would be a major contribution to fairness, because in the end everyone would be in the same system and the scheme would be more stable” he added.
On pension reform, Klüssendorf sees room for agreement with the Union. “We have set up a pension commission, and as I hear, it meets regularly, works hard and develops proposals that ultimately lead both sides – and both coalition partners – to a common goal” he said.
The Union is also debating how to treat civil servants. CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann, for example, has called for a focus on “the absolute core” of civil‑service appointments. Klüssendorf said the parties are discussing the same issues and that it is not a fight but an exchange of positions, noting that they are much closer on some points than one might think.
