Economist Monika Schnitzer has urged the federal government to firmly proceed with abolishing the “Pension at 63” (“Rente mit 63”), even if faced with opposition. According to Schnitzer, who spoke to the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung,” the early retirement option is disproportionately utilized by very healthy individuals. By commencing their retirement earlier, these people receive two additional years of benefits, which are financially covered by the contributing members. She deemed this arrangement unsolidaristic toward the younger generation and challenged those who oppose the reform to specify whose costs they intend to fund this with.
Schnitzer considered the required pension overhaul long overdue. She noted that in previous years, reforms had served only to increase the system’s cost. Privileges that are unrelated to insurance, such as the Pension at 63, must be corrected. Furthermore, she emphasized that transitioning to capital-backed savings is unavoidable, as the existing pay-as-you-go system is no longer sufficient in an increasingly shrinking society.
This discussion on early pension schemes comes amid political tension. Recently, Manuela Schwesig, the Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (SPD), criticized statements made by Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) regarding pensions without deductions and announced that other federal states would offer further resistance.
