Vice-chairs of the Pension Commission, Annika Klose (SPD) and Pascal Reddig (CDU), have officially revised their positions within the commission, according to the newspaper Spiegel. Reddig confirmed to the magazine that while he still holds underlying convictions, he has “rethought and changed” his stance in certain aspects.
Regarding old-age poverty, the CDU politician stated that he learned about the disproportionately high number of self-employed individuals who end up relying on basic welfare security. Consequently, the commission recommends that all new freelancers be automatically incorporated into the statutory pension system, moving away from the Union’s previous reliance on voluntary enrollment.
Klose noted she had made significant progress regarding the introduction of a capital pension. She explained that while she initially preferred to focus on occupational pensions, it became clear that half of all employees do not receive an occupational pension. Therefore, she argued, it would be prudent to stabilize the statutory pension-at least partially-through the capital market to ensure that low-income earners are also supported.
These revisions follow the commission’s recent presentation of proposals for pension reform. These plans call for the abolition of the “Pension at 63” age limit and the implementation of a capital pension scheme.
