Economist Martin Werding advocates for extending reforms currently being debated for the statutory pension system to cover civil service pensions. Speaking to the “Rheinische Post,” Werding stated that the maximum pension amount should be lowered.
He noted that while the highest limit for civil servant retirement pay was reduced from 75 percent to 71.75 percent of service benefits in 2002, no further changes have been made, which he considers unfair. To ensure that the effects of standard pension adjustments are applied to civil servants, he proposes that the maximum limit be reduced even further, specifically to 68 percent. Werding, who was formerly a member of the pension commission, firmly rejects past suggestions by Social Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD) about integrating civil servants into the main pension fund. He argues that such inclusion has never benefited the system, as it only results in increasing future pension claims.
However, Werding does support measures to reduce the number of civil service positions. He suggests that roles such as teachers and potentially some university professors should no longer require civil service appointments in the future. Fundamentally, he demands that reforms implemented in the statutory pension must have an equivalent impact on the system governing civil servants.
