Economist Veronika Grimm supports the Pension Committee’s proposals to largely eliminate mini-jobs. Speaking to the “Rheinische Post” on Tuesday, she stated that the Committee has incorporated several suggestions that would genuinely improve the sustainability of the pension insurance system. These includes linking the retirement age to increased life expectancy and abolishing pensions for those retiring before the age of 63. Furthermore, she believes that scrapping mini-jobs for all groups except students would significantly boost job incentives, especially for low-income earners. Grimm also agrees with the Committee that civil servants should not be integrated into the statutory pension insurance, noting that such a step would create enormous administrative burdens without offering any real benefit.
However, the Nuremberg economist criticized the planned mandatory insurance for the self-employed. “I cannot understand why one would want to integrate the self-employed into a system with such limited returns,” she argued, adding that such integration would ultimately make self-employment even less attractive. Instead, she recommended that self-employed individuals should always maintain the option to save through capital-backed plans, as these offer significantly higher returns.
